Hope in fight against lethal bird flu as scientists discover some species developing immunity
Hopes of combatting a lethal strain of bird flu have received a small boost after scientists discovered some seabirds were developing immunity.
Amid the UK’s worst outbreak on record, last year at least 3.4 million birds died or were culled and shops ran short on eggs.
A small number of bird flu infections in humans have also been detected since the current outbreak began in 2021.
In what they are calling a “significant” step forward, UK scientists believe – for the first time – they have found cases of seabirds that have had been exposed to the current H5N1 strain and then recovered.
In welcome news for farmers, the study also found long distance transmission from one farm to another was extremely unlikely.
The findings by the FluMap group of eight organisations, led by the Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA), are based on a “small sample size” of Northern gannets – a species particularly vulnerable to bird flu – and shag species.
Thousands of Gannets died at two key RSPB sites, Grassholm and Troup Head, with numbers falling to lows not seen since the 1960s.
Much fewer died this year – and the scientists discovered some birds that had been infected and survived. Infections can spread from wild to farmed birds, meaning tackling it in wild birds is important for protecting farms.
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How does bird flu spread?
Professor Ian Brown from APHA said: “The data from flu map shows, not surprisingly, perhaps, that some of [the living birds tested this year] were indeed exposed, got infected and recovered and were therefore immune.”
However there is still “lots of uncertainty” about the broader implications, he added.
Bird flu viruses can morph and change, meaning antibody levels will likely decline over time and so immunity may fade.
That means next year’s offspring are not guaranteed to be immune, so scientists aren’t expecting whole populations to benefit yet.
Prof Brown said the findings were “significant new data” but could not be described as a “major, major breakthrough”
“It gives us more insights to what’s happening with the virus and its impacts on biodiversity,” he added.
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Scientists hope the findings will provide a better understanding of how the virus changes, helping them to control the spread and protect the health of animals and humans in future.
The UK’s chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) was in talks with industry figures about possible vaccinations for farmed birds.
DEFRA and the government-sponsored UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) have announced an extra £3.3m of funding for the group to find out more about immunity in wild birds.
Another group has also been given £3.2m to investigate the potential for human transmission.
According to DEFRA, 60% of new human diseases originate in animals.
Although current numbers of confirmed cases are lower than this time last year, Prof Middlemiss said there was still a “high risk” infections could spread, and urged farmers to maintain biosecurity measures.
An RSPB spokesperson said 2023 has seen the “third consecutive summer UK seabirds have been hit by this strain of bird flu, with tens of thousands of birds dead so far”.
They welcomed the news about signs of immunity, but said it “does not change the fact that we need urgent conservation action to build resilience in our vulnerable seabird populations, so they can better recover from the impacts of this devastating disease”.
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Mohamed al Fayed: Former royal security head says he warned Royal Family before Diana went on holiday with businessman
The former head of royal protection says he warned the Royal Family about Mohamed al Fayed’s reputation before Princess Diana took her sons on holiday with him.
The former Harrods owner, who died last year at the age of 94, was described as a “monster” earlier this week by lawyers representing 37 alleged sexual abuse victims.
The women say he raped and sexually assaulted them while they worked at the luxury department store, prowling the shop floor and “cherry-picking” women to be brought to his executive suite.
Now, Mr Davies says people were aware of the Egyptian businessman’s reputation as far back as the 1990s, and that he raised concerns about him to the Royal Family.
Princess Diana on the quay of the residence of Mohamed al Fayed in Saint Tropez on 20 July 1997. File pic: AP
“This was a man who I would be concerned [about] if a relative of mine was going on holiday with him, let alone the future king and his brother and their mother, Princess Diana,” Dai Davies told Sky News.
Mohamed al Fayed during a match at Craven Cottage stadium in 2013: File pic: PA
In July 1997, a month before she died, Princess Diana went on holiday with Fayed and his wife to their residence in St Tropez.
She took the two young princes with her – a holiday Prince Harry described as “heaven” in his 2023 memoir Spare.
“I was horrified because I was aware of some of the allegations even then that were going around,” said Mr Davies.
“I was aware that he had tried very hard to ingratiate himself with the Royal Family and obviously knowing, as I did, the reputation he was alleged [to have] then, I was concerned, and I took the opportunity to inform the Royal Family.”
Princess Diana, Prince William (right) and Prince Harry (left) in Saint Tropez on 14 July 1997. File pic: AP
Mr Davies says he was told: “Her Majesty is aware.”
“The rest is history,” he said.
Buckingham Palace told Sky News it had no comment on the allegations.
Fulham ‘deeply disturbed’ by allegations
Fulham FC, a football club that was owned by Fayed between 1997 and 2013, has said it is “deeply troubled” by the dozens of “disturbing” sexual abuse allegations against the businessman.
The Premier League club also said it is “in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or has been affected” by this alleged behaviour.
Mohamed al Fayed waves a Fulham scarf in front of supporters in 2012. Pic: Reuters
However, Gaute Haugenes, who managed the club’s women’s team between 2001 and 2003, told the BBC extra precautions were taken to protect female players from Fayed.
“We were aware he liked young, blonde girls. So we just made sure that situations couldn’t occur. We protected the players.”
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‘The door was locked behind me’
A former Harrods employee told Sky News she was summoned to Fayed’s apartment when she began working for the department store at 19 years old.
She was told the meeting was a “job review” before “the door was locked behind me”.
“I saw his bedroom door partially open – there were sex toys on view,” she said.
“I felt petrified. I perched myself at the very end of the sofa and then… my boss, the person I worked for, pushed himself onto me.”
Read more: ‘One of the worst cases of corporate sexual exploitation’
Harrods said in a statement on Thursday it was “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.
The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The legal team involved in a civil claim against Harrods for allegedly failing to provide a safe system of work for its employees said they aimed to seek justice for the victims of a “vast web of abuse”.
Lily Allen says she had her children “for all the wrong reasons,” at a “high pressure” point in her career when she felt “overwhelmed”.
The singer and actress had her two daughters, Marnie, 12 and Ethel, 11, with her ex-husband Sam Cooper when she was in her mid-20s.
By the time she became a mum, she’d already had hit singles including Smile and The Fear, released two studio albums and received a Brit Award for best British female solo artist.
Speaking about motherhood on the BBC podcast Miss Me?, which Allen hosts with her long-time friend Miquita Oliver, she said: “I think I had children for all the wrong reasons, really.
“Because I was yearning for unconditional love, which I haven’t felt in my life since I was a child.”
The now 39-year-old star added: “And also, my career was at such high speed, high pressure, and I felt like very overwhelmed by what was happening. I just didn’t get much respite you know?
“And I felt like the only way to stop people hassling me was to say, ‘It’s not about me, actually this is about this other person that’s inside me’.
When asked by Oliver if it worked, Allen says: “Yeah, they did leave me alone. I don’t think I really understood what was happening, what I got myself into.”
The daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, she went on to discuss her own childhood.
“My mum, bless her, had children really early as well, and she really struggled. But she doesn’t really talk about the struggle. And so… She inadvertently gaslit me into thinking it was, you know, easy.
“You just sort of throw the kid over your shoulder and you get on with it.
“Her job was very static, and in one place and went to an office and mine wasn’t like that at all. It wasn’t easy. It just wasn’t easy.”
Allen is married to Stranger Things star David Harbour
The ‘nasty scars’ caused by absent parents
Allen previously told the Radio Times podcast that while she loves her children, having them “ruined her career”.
She said her decision to prioritise them over her pop career was a decision she made so as not to inflict the “nasty scars” of being an “absent” parent onto them.
She also said the myth of having it all “really annoyed” as it simply was not true.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Allen, whose younger brother is Game Of Thrones actor Alfie Allen, married Stranger Things star David Harbour in 2020.
Away from her music career, Allen has branched out into acting over the last few years, starring in two plays in London’s West End, and winning a role in Sky drama Dreamland last year.
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