Bird research centre Sovon  and wildlife health centre DWHC are urging garden owners to take measures to limit the spread of a disease which has killed hundreds of blue tits in the Netherlands

Research in Germany, where thousands of blue tits have died, showed the birds are suffering from pneumonia brought on by the Suttonella ornithocola bacterium. The bacterium was first found in tits in 1996 in England and Wales and in Germany in 2018.

Research is ongoing to see if the affected blue tits in the Netherlands are suffering from the same or another disease but progress is slower because labs are not fully staffed because of coronavisrus measures.

Other species of tits may be in danger of contagion, the centre said, and males seem to harder hit by the disease than females, possibly because the males are weaker following the mating season. Typical symptoms of the disease are lethargy and fluffed up plumage.

Sovon is urging people to clean their feeding tables every day and disinfect them regularly and move them around the garden so as to avoid creating hotspots for possible contagion. If people find a dead blue tit, feeding should stop altogether.

The bacterium is unlikely to infect humans but it is advisable to wear gloves when handling feeders or dead birds, the centre said. Dead birds should be reported to willdlife health centre DWHC or Sovon.