Warning for farmers after first case of bird flu discovered in a sheep
A case of bird flu in sheep has been confirmed for the first time on a farm where the disease had been found in poultry, the UK chief vet has said.
The case in a single sheep was identified with repeat positive milk testing following routine surveillance of livestock on a premises in Yorkshire where avian influenza H5N1 had been confirmed in captive birds.
It was found in monitoring of livestock on infected farms in the wake of the outbreak of the disease in dairy cows in the US.
The infected sheep was humanely culled and no further infection was detected in the remaining flock, the Government said.
It is the first time the virus has been reported in a sheep, but officials said it was not the first time bird flu had been found in livestock in other countries, and there was no increased risk to the UK's farm animal population.
But they called on all farmers and livestock keepers to be vigilant and practise good biosecurity measures to protect their animals and prevent further spread if there is an outbreak.
UK chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said: 'We have confirmed the detection of influenza of avian origin (H5N1) in a single sheep on a farm in Yorkshire.
'Strict biosecurity measures have been implemented to prevent the further spread of disease.
'While the risk to livestock remains low, I urge all animal owners to ensure scrupulous cleanliness is in place and to report any signs of infection to the Animal Plant Health Agency immediately.'
The National Sheep Association (NSA) stressed the case was confined to one small holding and was not a food security risk.
NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: 'This is not a threat to food safety of consumers and it's very important to make that clear.
'What this shows though is the importance of biosecurity and an understanding of what biosecurity means.
'In the sheep industry, we often think the term just refers to buying in stock, but in this instance sheep and poultry have mixed on the same farm, resulting in the transmission of avian influenza.'
He added mixing of stock should be avoided when parts of England was undergoing mandatory housing for poultry due to bird flu outbreaks.
Professor Ian Brown, group leader at the Pirbright Institute, a leading centre for studying animal disease, said the detection on bird flu in a sheep which has had close contact with infected birds was 'not an unexpected finding'.
'It is too early to consider whether such virus is capable of onward spread within sheep but this was an isolated small holding with a small number of birds and sheep.'
But he added: 'It does emphasise the importance of separating species and maintaining good farm hygiene.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
3 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
ADHD waiting list led to rise in unregulated private providers
The ADHD taskforce, commissioned by NHS England with the support of the Government, has published an interim report saying the system for diagnosing and managing ADHD needs to be overhauled. At the moment, ADHD assessment and treatment in England is provided by highly specialised doctors in secondary care. But the report warned: 'Inability to access NHS services has led to a significant growth in the use of private providers that are not regulated, resulting in two-tier access to services, diagnosis and treatment; one for those who can pay and another for those who cannot. 'This drives health inequalities and links to disproportionate impacts and outcomes in the education and justice systems, employment and health.' Experts behind the study said waiting times for NHS ADHD services 'have escalated and are unacceptably long' and demand on services is 'very likely' to continue to rise. The taskforce concluded that ADHD is not solely the remit of the NHS and other health providers, with schools being vital for identifying and meeting needs at an early stage. And while a clinical diagnosis of ADHD via the NHS is required if a person needs medication, early support can still be provided to others. The report said: 'We need timely recognition and early support of suspected ADHD and neurodivergence across all settings. 'This is especially important in schools and the early years, to prevent adverse impacts and costly outcomes in the future. This should be needs-led and not require a clinical diagnosis.' The report also suggested there is no evidence of over-diagnosis of ADHD in the UK. It argued: 'England and the rest of the UK have much lower service recognition and treatment rates of ADHD diagnosis compared with other European countries. 'Recent data show a very high level of under-recognition and under-treatment of strictly diagnosed ADHD, with significant inequalities in access to care.' The report also addressed concerns about potential 'over-medicalisation and over-diagnosis', including worries that people are self-diagnosing ADHD based on information from social media. However, the report, said that 'currently there is no good evidence on what percentage of those waiting to see a clinician have self-diagnosed ADHD using social media and eventually meet or do not meet ADHD diagnostic criteria after a high-quality assessment. 'We only know currently that in England, recognised rates of ADHD are lower than the expected prevalence of ADHD.' Currently, the estimated economic costs of not treating ADHD are around £17 billion to the UK economy, the report went on. This includes through lower tax contributions, people needing state benefits and more likely to be not in education, employment or training, or who are long-term unemployed. 'Many of these costs are avoidable, as with appropriate, early support, people with ADHD can thrive,' it said. Professor Anita Thapar, chair of the ADHD Taskforce, said: 'The recommendations put forward by the taskforce will require action across Government and cross-sector organisations to make the necessary changes to improve the lives of people with ADHD. 'We need to get this right, to make sure people get early diagnosis and support, not just in the NHS but across society.' Dr Adrian James, NHS England's medical director for mental health and neurodiversity, said: 'We know that too many people with ADHD have been waiting for too long for support, which is why we launched the taskforce last year to help respond to the significant growth in the need for care. 'It is clear that much more needs to be done to improve ADHD assessment and care in England and ensure people can get a timely diagnosis, and we welcome the findings from the interim report, and look forward to its final conclusions later this year.' The NHS has launched publicly-available data collection on ADHD referrals and waiting times to help local teams better understand how they are performing. By March 2026, the Government also aims for six in 10 pupils to have access to a mental health support team in school.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Desperate patients using unregulated ADHD services due to long NHS waiting lists
A taskforce has claimed that long NHS waiting lists for ADHD diagnosis and support have caused a 'significant growth in the use of private providers that are not regulated'. The ADHD taskforce has published an interim report saying the system for diagnosing and managing ADHD needs to be overhauled. The taskforce was commissioned by NHS England with the support of the Government. At the moment, ADHD assessment and treatment in England is provided by highly specialised doctors in secondary care. But the report warned: 'Inability to access NHS services has led to a significant growth in the use of private providers that are not regulated, resulting in two-tier access to services, diagnosis and treatment; one for those who can pay and another for those who cannot. 'This drives health inequalities and links to disproportionate impacts and outcomes in the education and justice systems, employment and health.' Experts behind the study said waiting times for NHS ADHD services 'have escalated and are unacceptably long' and demand on services is 'very likely' to continue to rise. The taskforce concluded that ADHD is not solely the remit of the NHS and other health providers, with schools being vital for identifying and meeting needs at an early stage. And while a clinical diagnosis of ADHD via the NHS is required if a person needs medication, early support can still be provided to others. The report said: 'We need timely recognition and early support of suspected ADHD and neurodivergence across all settings. 'This is especially important in schools and the early years, to prevent adverse impacts and costly outcomes in the future. This should be needs-led and not require a clinical diagnosis.' The report also suggested there is no evidence of over-diagnosis of ADHD in the UK. It argued: 'England and the rest of the UK have much lower service recognition and treatment rates of ADHD diagnosis compared with other European countries. 'Recent data show a very high level of under-recognition and under-treatment of strictly diagnosed ADHD, with significant inequalities in access to care.' The report also addressed concerns about potential 'over-medicalisation and over-diagnosis', including worries that people are self-diagnosing ADHD based on information from social media. However, the report, said that 'currently there is no good evidence on what percentage of those waiting to see a clinician have self-diagnosed ADHD using social media and eventually meet or do not meet ADHD diagnostic criteria after a high-quality assessment. 'We only know currently that in England, recognised rates of ADHD are lower than the expected prevalence of ADHD.' Currently, the estimated economic costs of not treating ADHD are around £17 billion to the UK economy, the report went on. This includes through lower tax contributions, people needing state benefits and more likely to be not in education, employment or training, or who are long-term unemployed. 'Many of these costs are avoidable, as with appropriate, early support, people with ADHD can thrive,' it said. Professor Anita Thapar, chair of the ADHD Taskforce, said: 'The recommendations put forward by the taskforce will require action across Government and cross-sector organisations to make the necessary changes to improve the lives of people with ADHD. 'We need to get this right, to make sure people get early diagnosis and support, not just in the NHS but across society.' Dr Adrian James, NHS England's medical director for mental health and neurodiversity, said: 'We know that too many people with ADHD have been waiting for too long for support, which is why we launched the taskforce last year to help respond to the significant growth in the need for care. 'It is clear that much more needs to be done to improve ADHD assessment and care in England and ensure people can get a timely diagnosis, and we welcome the findings from the interim report, and look forward to its final conclusions later this year.' The NHS has launched publicly-available data collection on ADHD referrals and waiting times to help local teams better understand how they are performing. By March 2026, the Government also aims for six in 10 pupils to have access to a mental health support team in school.
South Wales Guardian
3 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
ADHD waiting list led to rise in unregulated private providers
The ADHD taskforce, commissioned by NHS England with the support of the Government, has published an interim report saying the system for diagnosing and managing ADHD needs to be overhauled. At the moment, ADHD assessment and treatment in England is provided by highly specialised doctors in secondary care. But the report warned: 'Inability to access NHS services has led to a significant growth in the use of private providers that are not regulated, resulting in two-tier access to services, diagnosis and treatment; one for those who can pay and another for those who cannot. 'This drives health inequalities and links to disproportionate impacts and outcomes in the education and justice systems, employment and health.' Experts behind the study said waiting times for NHS ADHD services 'have escalated and are unacceptably long' and demand on services is 'very likely' to continue to rise. The taskforce concluded that ADHD is not solely the remit of the NHS and other health providers, with schools being vital for identifying and meeting needs at an early stage. And while a clinical diagnosis of ADHD via the NHS is required if a person needs medication, early support can still be provided to others. The report said: 'We need timely recognition and early support of suspected ADHD and neurodivergence across all settings. 'This is especially important in schools and the early years, to prevent adverse impacts and costly outcomes in the future. This should be needs-led and not require a clinical diagnosis.' The report also suggested there is no evidence of over-diagnosis of ADHD in the UK. It argued: 'England and the rest of the UK have much lower service recognition and treatment rates of ADHD diagnosis compared with other European countries. 'Recent data show a very high level of under-recognition and under-treatment of strictly diagnosed ADHD, with significant inequalities in access to care.' The report also addressed concerns about potential 'over-medicalisation and over-diagnosis', including worries that people are self-diagnosing ADHD based on information from social media. However, the report, said that 'currently there is no good evidence on what percentage of those waiting to see a clinician have self-diagnosed ADHD using social media and eventually meet or do not meet ADHD diagnostic criteria after a high-quality assessment. 'We only know currently that in England, recognised rates of ADHD are lower than the expected prevalence of ADHD.' Currently, the estimated economic costs of not treating ADHD are around £17 billion to the UK economy, the report went on. This includes through lower tax contributions, people needing state benefits and more likely to be not in education, employment or training, or who are long-term unemployed. 'Many of these costs are avoidable, as with appropriate, early support, people with ADHD can thrive,' it said. Professor Anita Thapar, chair of the ADHD Taskforce, said: 'The recommendations put forward by the taskforce will require action across Government and cross-sector organisations to make the necessary changes to improve the lives of people with ADHD. 'We need to get this right, to make sure people get early diagnosis and support, not just in the NHS but across society.' Dr Adrian James, NHS England's medical director for mental health and neurodiversity, said: 'We know that too many people with ADHD have been waiting for too long for support, which is why we launched the taskforce last year to help respond to the significant growth in the need for care. 'It is clear that much more needs to be done to improve ADHD assessment and care in England and ensure people can get a timely diagnosis, and we welcome the findings from the interim report, and look forward to its final conclusions later this year.' The NHS has launched publicly-available data collection on ADHD referrals and waiting times to help local teams better understand how they are performing. By March 2026, the Government also aims for six in 10 pupils to have access to a mental health support team in school.
