The virus has done it. Every continent now has its mark. H5N1 bird flu, a pathogen that whispers pandemic nightmares, has officially reached the last holdouts. Antarctica, that final frontier of avian isolation, confirmed its first cases this week. The circle is complete.
For Whitehall, this changes the calculus. The threat level hasn't budged from 'low' for human transmission. But the signal is clear. The virus is spreading, mutating, and biding its time.
At the ports, the response is visible. Dover and Felixstowe are rolling out enhanced biosecurity measures. More sniffer dogs. More hygiene checks. More paperwork. It is a sign of a system on edge.
DEFRA sources tell me the real worry is the autumn migration. As birds come south, the UK becomes a test case. Can this island hold the line? The answer is not yet clear.
What is clear is the politics. Concerns are being raised in the Commons. Backbenchers demanding answers. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is due to make a statement next week. Expect ministers to be grilled on vaccine stockpiles and pandemic preparedness.
The game has shifted. H5N1 is no longer a distant concern. It is on our shores. The Government knows it. The question is what they will do about it.
