Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of cases of avian flu in the UK; and what information her Department holds on the number of cases in EU countries.

Since the start of the current epizootic in October 2021, 344 cases of avian influenza (343 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 and 1 case of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) H7N3) have been confirmed in poultry and other captive birds in the UK. Although new cases have slowed, there have been 186 cases (185 cases of HPAI H5N1 and 1 case of LPAI H7N3) since 1 October 2022 (the start of year 2 of the epizootic), including 155 HPAI H5N1 cases in England, 21 HPAI H5N1 cases and 1 LPAI H7N3 case in Scotland, 8 HPAI H5N1 cases in Wales and 1 HPAI H5N1 case in Northern Ireland. This compares to a total of 158 cases of HPAI H5N1 in year one of the epizootic (October 2021 to September 2022), including 134 cases in England, 7 cases in Wales, 11 cases in Scotland, 6 cases in Northern Ireland.

Further details on the current situation for HPAI and LPAI in the UK and Europe can be found in the risk and outbreak assessments published on GOV.UK at Avian influenza (bird flu) in Europe, Russia and the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This includes information on outbreaks and events in both domestic poultry, captive birds and wild birds in Europe reported by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and the reference laboratory Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe). We continue to monitor the current situation both in Europe and globally, as well as the effectiveness of any disease control measures taken.