THE UK’s bird flu “patient zero” has tested negative for the disease — and says his first plan is to get new ducks.
Alan Gosling, 79, is free of the avian strain.
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But it is unclear when his isolation period, which started on December 22, can finish.
His beloved flock of 160 Muscovy ducks were all destroyed, but Alan said his family have been offered more.
He told The Sun: “I had a roar with laughter when they told me that.
“I thought, ‘Are you joking?’”
The dad of three, of Buckfastleigh, Devon, added: “I’m fine, I’ve got no aches and pains or anything.
I’m quite honoured with the fact anything they found when testing is going to help produce a medication.”
Symptoms of bird flu:
Call a GP or NHS 111 if you experience any symptoms of bird flu and have visited an area affected by bird flu in the past 10 days.
The main symptoms of bird flu can appear very quickly and include:
- a very high temperature or feeling hot or shivery
- aching muscles
- headache
- a cough or shortness of breath
Other early symptoms may include:
- diarrhoea
- sickness
- stomach pain
- chest pain
- bleeding from the nose and gums
- conjunctivitis
It usually takes three to five days for the first symptoms to appear after you’ve been infected.
Within days of symptoms appearing, it’s possible to develop more severe complications such as pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
