UK reports bird flu for first time since 2017

[December 11, 2019]  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government said bird flu had been confirmed at a chicken farm in eastern England on Tuesday, the first such report since June 2017.

Some 27,000 birds at the farm would be slaughtered following the discovery of the H5 strain, which the agriculture ministry described as "low pathogenic."

"The risk to public health from the virus is very low," health authorities added. "Thoroughly cooked poultry and poultry products, including eggs, are safe to eat."

(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

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