POULTRY workers are being urged to get a free human flu vaccination to stop a highly contagious strain of bird flu.

Primary care trusts across the region are setting up immunisation clinics to vaccinate poultry workers against human flu.

The vaccine will not protect against avian flu, but experts say it will prevent the human flu virus mixing with the avian flu strain.

It is feared that if that happened, the virus could mutate and become highly infectious, causing a deadly flu pandemic.

Dr Phil Kirby, from the North Yorkshire and York care trust, said: "This programme is being undertaken as a precautionary public health measure and does not mean that workers are at any higher risk of getting flu this winter than usual."

The scheme, part of a national poultry worker immunisation programme, was ordered by the Department of Health.

Registered poultry workers will be able to attend clinics at locations across the North-East until the end of March.

Poultry catchers and cullers who are not registered with the trust are also eligible for immunisation and are welcome to attend a clinic.

A spokeswoman for the National Farmers' Union in the region, said: "This is something we very much welcome.

"Poultry workers are on the front line and, as a consequence, are most at risk. It is therefore important that they are given whatever protection that is offered. We would very much encourage all poultry workers to attend a clinic just to be on the safe side."

For more details of the immunisation programme, including times and locations of clinics, call 01904-56-76-91.