A travel warning has been put in place after hundreds of birds were found found dead on a popular Scottish beach.
Holidaymakers heading to the coast have been warned to stay away from the bodies amid fears of an avian flu outbreak. Council workers in Aberdeenshire removed 330 dead birds from Stonehaven beach on Monday and another 100 today, Tuesday.
Visitors to the north-east town have been urged to keep their distance, as coming into direct contact can increase the risk of infection.
There have been a number of mass bird deaths throughout Scotland in recent months, but the deaths in Aberdeenshire are among the worst, Aberdeen Live reports.
Government wildlife agency NatureScot found around 200 sandwich terns and black-headed gulls dead at Forvie National Nature Reserve in Collieston, around halfway between Aberdeen and Peterhead. They will be tested to confirm if the cause was avian flu.
It is very rare for strains of the disease to pass from birds to humans, but it is possible. Holyrood advice says it usually requires very close contact between humans and infected birds.
The strain H5N8 was found to have infected a small number of people for the first time, in Russia, in February 2021. It is the most recent strain of bird flu to concern scientists.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesperson said: "Our teams have been closely monitoring the number of deaths in the bird population over recent days across the region.
"We have activated our strategy to begin removing carcasses from our shoreline, with around 330 birds having already been removed from Stonehaven beach today (Monday).
"The council has finite resources, but we will look to remove large concentrations of birds from popular areas of highest footfall. People should be aware, however, that there will inevitably be more birds washed ashore with each tide so beaches may not be cleared entirely.
"The risk of catching avian influenza from dead or dying birds is extremely low, however due to other diseases such as salmonella which wild birds can carry, the advice is to leave the birds in-situ.
“Keep pets and children away from any dead or sick birds and don't touch wild bird feathers or surfaces contaminated with droppings.”
The council people visiting Stonehaven beach may come across the bodies of birds which staff have not yet had time to clear away as the tide washes more onto the sand.
Bird flu was detected in two workers at a poultry farm in the UK in May, although there are no signs of human-to-human transmission. The pair are thought to have been in close contact with birds who were had the flu.
Neither worker had symptoms of infection, however, and both cases were discovered during screening.
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