LONDON: Police in the southwestern England city of Bristol have found two suitcases believed to contain human remains after responding to reports of a man acting suspiciously on a bridge.
Avon and Somerset Police officers arrived on the Clifton Suspension Bridge at around midday Wednesday within 10 minutes of the call. But the man, who had traveled there by taxi, was already gone.
“This is a very disturbing incident and I fully recognize the concern it will be causing our communities,’’ Acting Bristol Commander Vicks Hayward-Melen said. “Our immediate priority is to locate the man who took the suitcases to the bridge, identify the deceased, and inform their next of kin.”
The taxi driver is cooperating with authorities. Police did not immediately provide more details.
UK police find 2 suitcases believed to contain human remains
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UK police find 2 suitcases believed to contain human remains
- Police arrived on the Clifton Suspension Bridge at around midday
European bird flu spike due to record wild birds cases, EFSA says
- Outbreaks typically peak in autumn as migratory birds head south
- For humans, bird flu infected 19 people in four countries, Cambodia, China, Mexico and the US
PARIS: An unprecedented number of bird flu outbreaks among wild birds and their wide geographic spread are driving an early and strong wave of the disease in Europe this year, the European Food Safety Authority said on Thursday.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has led to the culling of hundreds of millions of farmed birds in recent years, disrupting food supplies and increasing prices. Human cases remain rare.
Outbreaks typically peak in autumn as migratory birds head south, but this season saw earlier cases, killing many wild birds, mainly common cranes along the German, French, and Spanish routes as well as a large number of waterfowl.
Between September 6 and November 28, 2,896 highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 virus detections — mostly H5N1 — were reported in domestic birds in 29 countries in Europe, with 442 in poultry and 2,454 in wild birds, EFSA said in a report.
“We are currently seeing an unprecedented sharp increase in the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus detections, mostly in wild birds,” Lisa Kohnle, scientific officer at EFSA, told Reuters.
Poultry outbreak numbers were similar to previous years but five times higher than in 2023, and almost double those of 2021. Turkiyes were the most affected.
“What is interesting for poultry is that in previous years those epidemics were characterised by a lot of farm-to-farm spread,” Kohnle said. “This year it seems we mostly have introduction from wild birds.”
For humans, bird flu infected 19 people in four countries (Cambodia, China, Mexico and the US), killing one in Cambodia and one in the U.S, EFSA said. All cases involved exposure to poultry or poultry environments.
Bird flu outbreaks in mammals were fewer than in 2022 and 2023, but remain a concern due to potential mutations that would make it transmissible between humans.
Kohnle said detections were likely to keep rising, although high wild bird mortality could prompt tighter farm controls and help slow the virus’s spread.
