Case of new bird flu strain detected in Ballybay

A case of a new strain of bird flu has been detected in Ballybay.

It's the third case of the High Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N8 to be recorded in Ireland, with it previously found in a falcon in Limerick and a swan in Derry.

This strain is notifiable unlike the H6N1 virus earlier this year, which saw more than 605,000 birds culled after 13 outbreaks in the county.

H5N8 can be contracted through droppings of wild migratory birds, and there's no cure or vaccine for infected birds.

However, it doesn't pose a risk to human health.

Andy Boylan is a Carrickmacross poultry farmer and the IFA's Poultry Chair, he says it can't be allowed to spread the same way as earlier this year.