13.01.2017
The H5N8 strain of avian influenza has been confirmed in nine mute swans but testing stops once the presence of the disease has been established so it is not known how many have been struck by the disease. Nine dead swans have tested positive for HPAI H5N8 strain of virus at site where about 80 birds have died so far this winter.
Measures are being taken to stop the disease spreading to poultry flocks but the 1,000 free-flying swans at Abbotsbury are wild and it is not possible to completely confine them.
Avian influenza has been detected in poultry flocks from Lincolnshire to south-west Wales and as far north as Yorkshire as well as in wild birds across the country.
See also: outbreak in 2008