A bird flu strain has the "potential to become a pandemic," a UK health boss has warned. Richard Peabody, director of epidemic and emerging infections at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said: "H5N1 has the potential to become a pandemic, a future pandemic ." Mr Peabody said the virus was "not new." He added: "And so that’s why we’re watching that so closely and managing it so closely." It also comes after a case of bird flue in sheep was confirmed for the first time on Monday. The