The Department of Agriculture has confirmed that the first case of bird flu in 2018 has been found in a wild bird in Co Tipperary.

A white-tailed sea eagle was found dead on 31 January, and confirmed to have avian influenza subtype H5N6.

The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre maintains that the risk to public health remains low, but the discovery should come as a warning to flock owners to introduce strict bio-security measures after the finding.

Poultry flock owners are advised to feed and water their own flock in areas where wild birds can’t gain access.

Last month, the Welsh government introduced an all-Wales avian influenza zone following the discovery of three separate findings in England of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds in Dorset, Warwickshire and Hertfordshire.

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