Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 has been confirmed at a new poultry premises in Suffolk, bringing the total number of confirmed cases across the UK this season to 92.
The latest outbreak was identified on 30 January in a small poultry flock near Needham Market, Mid Suffolk. A 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone have been declared around the premises, and all poultry on site will be humanely culled.
This follows confirmation on 24 January of HPAI H5N1 at a fifth premises near Penicuik in the Scottish Borders. Protection and surveillance zones remain in place there, with all poultry on the affected premises also set to be culled.
While the two most recent cases have led to new disease control zones, authorities have confirmed that restrictions have been lifted or downgraded in a number of other areas after the successful completion of disease control and surveillance activities. Surveillance zones have been revoked entirely at premises near Lydd in Kent and Watton in Norfolk, while protection zones have ended at sites in Lincolnshire, Cumbria, Nottinghamshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, Kent and Gloucestershire, with those areas now forming part of wider surveillance zones. A captive bird monitoring zone near Castle Hedingham in Essex has also been revoked.
Great Britain remains within an avian influenza prevention zone, with mandatory biosecurity and housing measures in place in England and Wales since November 2025. The measures require poultry keepers with 50 or more birds to house them, alongside additional requirements for smaller flocks where birds or products are sold or given away.
The current outbreak season began in October 2025, with the first cases confirmed in Northern Ireland on 9 October, England on 11 October, Wales on 25 October and Scotland on 12 November. In line with international animal health rules, the UK is no longer considered free from highly pathogenic avian influenza.
So far in the 2025 to 2026 season, 73 cases of HPAI H5N1 have been confirmed in England, eight in Scotland, seven in Wales and four in Northern Ireland. One low pathogenic avian influenza case has also been recorded, bringing the overall total to 93 avian influenza cases across the UK this season.