Bird flu has infected a sheep in Britain in what the government on Monday described as the first case of its kind reported anywhere in the world.
While avian influenza had already been detected in cattle and other mammals, including in the United States, the infection of a sheep will increase concern over the potential impact of the disease’s spread.
In a statement, Britain’s government said that avian origin flu (or H5N1) had been found in a ewe during what it called “routine surveillance” of livestock in Yorkshire in the north of England, where cases had been confirmed in captive birds.
“All affected birds and the infected ewe were humanely culled to mitigate the risk of further disease spread,” the statement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said. “Further official testing of the remaining flock of sheep at the premises, including the lambs of the affected ewe, were negative for the presence of avian influenza virus.”
Britain’s chief veterinary officer, Christine Middlemiss, said that strict biosecurity measures had been put in place to prevent the further spread of disease but urged owners of animals to “ensure scrupulous cleanliness is in place,” and to report any signs of infection to the authorities.
Transmission of bird flu to humans is relatively rare, although one case was reported in January in England’s West Midlands in a person who was said to have been in proximity to sick birds on a farm. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that there have been 70 confirmed human cases since 2024.
The virus is spread through contact with infected birds or other species, including through touching their droppings and bedding, although people can also catch the virus by killing or preparing infected poultry for cooking.
Avian flu has been detected in cattle, in the United States, with the Centers for Disease Control reporting 41 cases and 989 dairy herds affected as of Friday.
Other animals, including cats, foxes and pigs, have also been known to contract the virus, though the addition of sheep to that list will add to the concern.
Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association, which represents British sheep farmers, said that the case did not pose a threat to food safety but raised questions about farming different kinds of animals in the same location. “In this instance sheep and poultry have mixed on the same farm, resulting in the transmission of avian influenza,” he said in a statement.
Meera Chand, emerging infection lead at the U.K.’s health security agency, said that while “globally, we continue to see that mammals can be infected with avian influenza,” the “current evidence suggests that the avian influenza viruses we’re seeing circulating around the world do not spread easily to people — and the risk of avian flu to the general public remains very low.”
