A bird flu outbreak has been confirmed at a Norfolk poultry farm, just days after the government reduced the risk level for the disease.
Defra said all poultry will be humanely culled at a commercial premises outside Gayton, near King’s Lynn, after vets confirmed a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza.
It comes just five days after the lifting of a national Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ), which enforced strict biosecurity rules for poultry and captive birds.
Defra said the risk to poultry had been reduced to "low", but stressed that all bird keepers should "still follow enhanced measures at all times" to prevent future outbreaks - with "scrupulous biosecurity" being the most effective method of disease control.
John Newton, Norfolk county adviser for the National Farmers' Union (NFU), said: “This is concerning news for our region’s vital poultry sector and highlights that avian influenza still poses a risk.
"We would urge all bird keepers to remain vigilant and maintain enhanced biosecurity measures to help prevent future outbreaks."
The government has confirmed 111 cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in England during the country's worst-ever outbreak.
Suffolk has become a particular hotspot, with nine cases - most recently near Eye on April 8.
But the latest case is the first to be confirmed at a Norfolk premises since February, when the disease was found at Pensthorpe Natural Park near Fakenham.
A 3km Protection Zone and 10km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around the infected farm in west Norfolk.
Those zones include increased biosecurity and reporting requirements for poultry keepers including isolating or housing birds, restrictions on the movement of poultry, eggs, meat and carcases.
Earlier this year, a leading poultry farmer called for bird flu vaccines to be introduced to prevent more "devastating" virus outbreaks, following the rising number of cases, and the extension of the high-risk season beyond winter, when the disease is carried by migrating birds.
Although bird flu is potentially devastating to commercial poultry and wild bird flocks, Public Health England (PHE) advises that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agency advises that avian influenzas pose a very low food safety risk for UK consumers.
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