A warning has been issued following a surge in bird flu cases, including in Glasgow.

The Scottish SPCA has released a statement about a recent outbreak of the disease, which they called "the worst Scotland has experienced in terms of transmission and mortality rates".

Confirming that there have been cases reported in the Glasgow area, the organisation said they are currently not admitting wild birds to their National Wildlife Rescue Centre due to the highly contagious avian influenza.

They further stated that they have strict biosecurity measures in place already, but the scale and speed of the spread of this year’s outbreak means they do not have appropriate facilities to isolate the large number of birds we could expect to admit. 

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They asked members of the public not to touch sick birds but instead call their free animal helpline on 03000 999 999 to report the incident.

In the case of dead birds, people should dial Defra’s helpline on 03459 33 55 77.

The SSPCA also warned that in rare cases, bird flu can infect humans. It is spread by close contact with an infected or dead bird with the diease. 

For more information on this, visit the NHS website.