THE bird flu strain on a Yorkshire farm has been identified as H5N8, the same type seen in recent outbreaks in Europe.

Defra has said the risk to public health remains very low and would only be possible through very close contact with affected birds.

Some 6,000 ducks have been culled at the farm near Driffield.

A Defra spokeswoman said: “Our animal health laboratory has confirmed that it is the H5N8 strain.”

The advice from the chief medical officer and Public Health England remains that the risk to public health is very low.

The Food Standards Agency has said there is no food safety risk for consumers.

EU officials have said migratory birds heading south for winter are probably responsible for the recent cases.

“The Yorkshire outbreak is the first serious case of bird flu in the UK since 2008, when the H7N7 strand was found in free-range hens in Oxfordshire.

Officials have been keen to stress that the strain found at the Yorkshire farm is not the H5N1 form, which is deadly to humans.

The exclusion zone bans movements of all poultry, products and waste within the area.

UK chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens said the Yorkshire farm had good bio-security in place and, as a result, the risk of spread was “probably quite low”.

But he warned more cases could follow and, because of the risk of wild birds spreading the disease via their droppings, urged farmers and their vets all over the country to be alert to the possibility of disease.

However, the main concern for farmers is that this has occurred in the run-up to Christmas, a time traditionally popular for geese, ducks and turkeys.