11 July 2023 , 12:24
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A fresh bird flu threat has led to a warning for holidaymakers heading to the coast as hundreds of seabirds have been found dead on a popular beach.
As a devastating wave of bird flu continues to wreak havoc across Scotland, council workers removed the bodies of 330 birds on Stonhaven beach on Monday and a further 100 today.
Visitors to the beach have been urged to stay away from the bodies, as coming into direct contact with them can increase the risk of possible infections.
There have been multiple cases of mass bird deaths reported throughout the north-east of Scotland in recent months, but the deaths in Aberdeenshire are among the worst and most shocking, Aberdeen Live reported.
Recently, government wildlife agency NatureScot found around 200 sandwich terns and black-headed gulls dead at Forvie National Nature Reserve in Collieston. They were removed and will be tested to confirm if the cause was avian flu.
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Some strains of bird flu can pass to humans but this is very rare. It usually requires very close contact between humans and infected birds, the Scottish Government says online.
In February 2021 H5N8 - the most recent avian flu of concern - was found to have infected a small number of people for the first time, in Russia.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesperson said: "Our teams have been closely monitoring the number of deaths in the bird population over recent days across the region.
"We have activated our strategy to begin removing carcasses from our shoreline, with around 330 birds having already been removed from Stonehaven beach today (Monday).
"The council has finite resources, but we will look to remove large concentrations of birds from popular areas of highest footfall. People should be aware, however, that there will inevitably be more birds washed ashore with each tide so beaches may not be cleared entirely.
"The risk of catching avian influenza from dead or dying birds is extremely low, however due to other diseases such as salmonella which wild birds can carry, the advice is to leave the birds in-situ.
A dead adult gannet on a beach in Norfolk last year (Getty Images/iStockphoto)“Keep pets and children away from any dead or sick birds and don't touch wild bird feathers or surfaces contaminated with droppings.”
The council has warned that visitors to the beach may come across the bodies of birds workers have not yet had time to clear away as the tide washes more onto the sand.
Bird flu was detected in two poultry workers in the UK in May, although there are no signs of human-to-human transmission, the UK Health Security Agency (UKSA) said.
The cases are believed to be linked to exposure to sick birds on a single poultry farm where the two people were known to have recently worked.
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Neither worker suffered symptoms of infection and both cases were found during screening.