The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed a case of avian influenza in a person in the South West of England.

Bird to human transmission of avian flu is very rare and has only occurred a small number of times in the UK previously.

The person acquired the infection from very close, regular contact with a large number of infected birds, which they kept in and around their home over a prolonged period of time.

All contacts of the individual, including those who visited the premises, have been traced and there is no evidence of onward spread of the infection to anyone else. The individual is currently well and self-isolating.

The risk to the wider public from avian flu continues to be very low. However, people should not touch sick or dead birds.

Read more in next Thursday’s paper.