THE retiree named as the UK's bird flu 'patient zero' says he caught it when he was shielding from Covid to protect his pet ducks.
Alan Gosling, from Buckfastleigh, has barely left his home since the first lockdown in March 2020 because he feared a coronavirus infection would force him away from his flock.
The 79-year-old was identified on Thursday as the first person across the nation to become infected with a particular strain of avian flu.
But now all 140 ducks have been culled, with 120 who lived in duck houses outside in the garden and the other 20 who lived inside as his pets.
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