Scientists on high alert for bird flu as seabirds return to UK coast
Scientists are on high alert for a new influx of bird flu as seabirds return to the UK coast in large numbers for the nesting season.
A second summer of mass mortality would have a devastating effect on the population of gannets and some other species.
And it would also raise the risk of the virus being transferred to mammals.
In an exclusive interview, Professor Ian Brown, the director of scientific services at the government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), told Sky News that the source of the virus behind last year’s die-off was still unclear.
“It looks like the virus was introduced into seabird colonies by another population,” he said.
“So rather than those gannets going out to sea and being exposed to the virus, it’s more probable they were exposed to other birds that mingled in their colony.
“Gulls, which we know are very susceptible to this virus, can carry it and can shed it. So in theory they can introduce it into a colony.
“Once it gets into the colony, those birds are really tightly packed and the virus spreads very fast.”
The H5N1 virus caused thousands of deaths in seabirds last year.
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How big a threat is bird flu?
After spending the winter out at sea, gannets, guillemots, puffins and kittiwakes are beginning to congregate in large numbers on steep cliffs to raise their young.
“Hopefully those birds will come back and will have a healthy breeding season and they won’t be exposed to virus,” said Prof Brown.
“But knowing what happened last summer, we’ve got to be more watchful and look for early events that signal maybe the virus has come back.”
Volunteers and wardens for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are checking colonies for sick birds and scanning the sea surface for any that have died.
Half a million seabirds nest at Bempton Cliffs nature reserve, on the Yorkshire coast. So many gannets gather here that it is internationally important for the species.
But in the most crowded sections of the colony 80% of gannet chicks died last year.
A National Trust ranger clearing dead birds from bird flu at Staple Island, off the coast of Northumberland, in December
Dave O’Hara, the RSPB’s senior site manager, said they almost certainly starved.
“We presume that’s because one or both of the adults had died,” he said.
“Things which are killing adult birds are of a particular concern because they only have one chick a year. So it could take a long time [for the population] to recover.
“This year, there’s a lot of worry about what’s coming.”
The H5N1 virus was first detected in 1996 and until two years ago was generally causing small outbreaks at certain times of year in domestic poultry, and migrating ducks and geese.
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But a new variant called 2.3.4.4b has swept the globe. It is now widespread in wild birds and no longer just causes a seasonal disease.
It has also begun crossing species to infect mammals, including foxes, seals and dolphins in the UK. All are most likely to have died as a result of scavenging birds with the virus.
There’s no evidence of mammal-to-mammal transmission in the UK, though it has happened at a mink farm in Spain and possibly in sea lions in South America.
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But the APHA is closely watching a mutation called E627K, which has been identified in eight out of 10 samples taken from UK mammals, and seems to increase the virulence and ability for airborne transmission.
“What we’re tracking are some changes in the virus that are rarely observed in bird populations,” said Prof Brown.
“They’re likely to signal that the virus is making some adjustment. But one adjustment alone will not be enough for that virus to then successfully transmit from one mammal to another.
“A numbers game is a factor. The more exposures you get, the more risk that these events might spark and trigger something that can then transmit, which is why we’re doing the surveillance.”
There have been seven cases of the new strain in people working closely with birds, including one in the UK. All those in the US or Europe had mild or no symptoms.
The UK Health Protection Agency says the risk to the general public is low and there has been no human-to-human spread.
But it warns people should not touch dead or sick birds, and should wash their hands after feeding birds.
UK
‘A catastrophic scandal’: Inside the tower block so dangerous residents face being kicked out at any moment
The moment we step into Willow Rise, the smell of damp is overpowering.
There are water stains across the carpet and rotten wood on the doors.
Around the corner, there’s a hole in the wall, barely patched up with a piece of polystyrene sheet.
We’re meeting a resident on the 13th floor of the building in Kirkby, Merseyside – but the lifts are broken and wires hang out of the service panel.
Like everyone living here, we will have to walk.
The disrepair in this block is everywhere you look.
Damp staining and ceiling damage around the block
It has now been deemed so unsafe by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service that they are days away from serving a rare prohibition notice on this tower and its neighbour, Beech Rise, meaning residents will have to leave with immediate effect.
In total, 160 households here face instant homelessness.
After climbing 13 flights of stairs, we meet Chris Penfold-Ivany.
‘A catastrophic scandal’
He has terminal cancer, and after chemotherapy and a liver transplant, that climb is now the only way he can get up to his flat.
Chris Penfold-Ivany warns ‘this is another Grenfell in the making’
He tells us it’s making him breathless. He can no longer get his prescriptions delivered, as the drivers won’t come up all the stairs.
“It’s a catastrophic scandal that we have been left like this,” he says.
He has lived in this flat for 15 years and has watched the block slowly begin to fall apart over the last decade.
He tells us that numerous complaints have achieved nothing. “I’m going to say it,” he says, “this is another Grenfell in the making.”
‘Nobody can live like this‘
A few floors down, Arunee Leerasiri opens the door to us, in floods of tears.
The stress of the last few weeks has left her anxious and overwhelmed. There are boxes everywhere, bare hooks on the walls where pictures hung.
She is packing up her life just three years after putting her life savings into buying this flat.
Arunee Leerasiri says she doesn’t even recognise her flat as her home anymore
Her elderly mother has come to visit, but she had to hire removal men already to take her mattress into storage as she couldn’t manage without the lifts.
Tonight, and until they are told they must leave, they will sleep on the floor.
“I can’t eat, I can’t sleep,” she tells us, through tears. “Sometimes, if I’m honest, I can’t even think. This used to be my home, and now I look around and I don’t even recognise it.”
“Nobody can live like this,” she adds.
‘Danger, 415 volts’
Water damage around electrical equipment, including a ‘Danger high voltage’ labelled box
She shows us a video she filmed just a few weeks ago, of one of the electrical risers on the ground floor.
None of us can quite believe what we are seeing – water is pouring through the ceiling, directly on to fuse boxes and electrical wiring.
Arunee takes us down to show us the cupboard. The water has now stopped but there are damp stains all over the floor and around the electrical equipment.
The water pipes and electric boxes are just inches away from one another within the cupboard.
One of the boxes, marked ‘Danger, 415 volts’, is rusted through.
Next to it, there is a notice stuck to a resident’s door telling them a leak has been identified in their flat – and as a leaseholder, they will be responsible for paying to fix it.
“Tell me, how is this safe?” Arunee says. “Why is this building allowed to be open for the public, as a dwelling, with this kind of set-up?”
A hole in a wall patched up with polystyrene
Hidden owners and a plea to the government
Merseyside Fire and Rescue tell us they have been serving enforcement notices on the building managers for years, to no avail.
They have now been told there is no money for the millions of pounds worth of repairs that will be needed to bring the blocks up to a safe standard.
Read more from Sky News:
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They have mandated a ‘waking watch’, where teams physically patrol the buildings daily to check for fire risks, without which they will serve the prohibition notice and tell residents they must leave straight away.
Knowsley Council has stepped in to pay for this temporarily – at a cost of £3,000 per day.
Their deputy leader tells us, though, that the money will soon run out.
Willow Rise and Beech Rise Towers in Merseyside have both been condemned by the fire service
Where to go?
With a complex management structure and several owners, managers and agents over the years, the council says it doesn’t even know who is to blame for the disrepair – or who even has the legal responsibility for maintaining the buildings.
It says discussions are ongoing with central government about whether any extra help – or money – can be provided to try to fix the mess.
Right now though, all the residents can do is wait.
With no date to leave and no idea if anything can be done to keep the buildings open, they are spending every day fearing the call to tell them they have to go.
They can only hope there will be somewhere for them if they do.
Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has reversed his decision to quit the party, saying “the mission is too important” and that he “cannot let people down”.
Instead, he said he will return in a new role, heading up an Elon Musk-inspired “UK DOGE” team.
In a statement, he said: “Over the last 24 hours I have received a huge number of lovely and heartfelt messages from people who have expressed their dismay at my resignation, urging me to reconsider.”
He added: “I know the mission is too important and I cannot let people down.
“So, I will be continuing my work with Reform, my commitment redoubled.”
Mr Yusuf said he would be returning in a new role, seemingly focusing on cuts and efficiency within government.
He said he would “fight for taxpayers”.
Only two days prior, Mr Yusuf dramatically handed in his resignation.
He claimed he no longer thought getting a Reform government elected was a “good use of my time” – but has now seemingly changed his mind.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage welcomed the news of Mr Yusuf’s return.
He said: “I am delighted that Zia Yusuf will head up Reform UK’s DOGE department.”
Nigel Farage welcomed Zia Yusuf’s return. File pic: PA
Read more:
Why did Zia Yusuf resign as chairman of Reform UK?
Reform’s rise forces rethink for SNP
‘Farage could become PM’
Mr Yusuf’s initial decision to quit came after he publicly distanced himself from the party’s new MP, Sarah Pochin, when she asked Sir Keir Starmer about banning the burka at Prime Minister’s Questions.
Reform said a ban was not party policy – and the chairman called it a “dumb” thing to ask.
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What is DOGE?
DOGE is a meme-coin inspired creation of Musk’s, standing for the Department of Government Efficiency.
It is the latest right-wing US import into British politics.
Before his public fallout with Donald Trump, the tech billionaire said his focus was saving taxpayers’ money by locating wasteful spending within government and cutting it.
Read more: How Elon Musk’s mission to cut government spending fell flat
However, opposition politicians questioned the impact of his efforts and how much he actually saved.
Musk initially had ambitions to slash government spending by $2trn (£1.5trn) – but this was dramatically reduced to $1trn (£750bn) and then to just $150bn (£111bn).
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