India, Jan. 27 -- The United Kingdom has confirmed its first human case of bird flu in three years, involving a poultry worker from the West Midlands. The individual contracted the A(H5N1) virus, marking a rare instance of bird-to-human transmission in the UK, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The transmission is rare, but it has been observed in the UK on a few occasions, the agency said. "The person (patient) acquired the infection on a farm where they had close and prolonged contact with a large number of infected birds. The risk to the wider public continues to be very low," the UKHSA said in a statement.

The case was identified following an outbreak of A (H5N1) in a flock of birds, detected by the Animal and Plant...