The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed to Agriland that its staff have travelled to Britain to help authorities deal with outbreaks of avian influenza (bird flu).
Since October 1, 2022, there have been 144 confirmed cases of bird flu in England, 18 in Scotland and three cases in Wales.
In a bid to deal with the unprecedented level of the disease, DAFM staff are currently providing assistance to the UK under the International Animal Health Emergency Response (IAHER) arrangement.
This agreement permits signatory countries – Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand – to share personnel in the event of an emergency animal disease outbreak.
This helps to supplement a country’s domestic emergency response capabilities.
In a statement, a DAFM spokesperson confirmed that department staff are providing assistance to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
“12 staff travelled to Great Britain in December and another group of 14 staff are in Great Britain at present or will travel in the coming days.
“Staff are deployed for approximately three weeks. These included vets, technical officers and administrative staff who are carrying out a range of duties related to disease outbreak management,” the spokesperson told Agriland.
As part of the IAHER arrangement, the department continues to pay the salaries of deployed personnel.
“Other expenses or additional costs are met or reimbursed by the recipient country,” the DAFM spokesperson said.
The department previously provided assistance to the UK during the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001.
“DAFM recognises the mutual benefits that the IAHER arrangement provides, allowing our staff to gain valuable practice and experience in emergency animal disease management and the provision of skilled assistance to Great Britain, as it experiences an unprecedented outbreak of Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza,” the spokesperson added.