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Another bird flu outbreak in Dumfries and Galloway

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A protection zone has been set up around the village of Newton Wamphray

Another bird flu outbreak has been identified near Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway, the Scottish government has confirmed.

A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone was set up at a site in Newton Wamphray on Friday night.

It comes a day after another case in the region was found among 700 birds at Kirtlebridge, near Annan.

A flock of 22,000 hens in nearby Kirkpatrick Fleming was also culled on Monday after the virus was found.

It is the fourth disease control zone in Scotland after the first case was reported in Arbroath in Angus last month.

The movement of poultry, carcasses, eggs and used poultry litter within these zones are restricted to prevent further spread of disease.

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Scotland's chief veterinary officer Sheila Voas told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme this week that she was concerned about the situation.

"The numbers this year are unprecedented and we are looking at the worst year on record," she said.

"However, the position in Scotland is not as bad as it could be at present."

Public health advice is that the risk to human health from the avian influenza (H5N1) virus is very low.

Ms Voas added: "Avian flu is very much a winter disease - the good news is this version doesn't have any human health significance.

"There is never a cast iron guarantee but researchers have done a lot of work and to date there has been no evidence of any spread to humans."