Public health experts ramp up avian flu surveillance in UK

Risk to humans, though low, is of concern after at least 200 cases of infection in mammals detected worldwide

Avian flu surveillance is being ramped up in the UK after the detection of at least 200 cases of infection in mammals.

Public health experts say the risk of a jump to humans is still very low, but that this risk would be monitored through increased genomic surveillance and targeted testing of people who had been exposed to the virus. Concern was also sparked by a recent outbreak of avian flu at a mink farm in Spain and a mass mortality of seals in the Caspian sea that is possibly linked to the infection.