Bird flu has jumped to foxes and otters, scientists have revealed.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha) found nine otters and foxes were among 66 mammals positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, with some seals also infected.

It is thought that they had fed on dead or sick wild birds infected with the virus and there was "a very low likelihood of any widespread infection in GB mammals", Apha said.

Around the world, the record outbreak of the disease led to the death of about 208 million birds with at least 200 recorded cases in mammals, according to figures seen by the BBC.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that "bird flu is primarily a disease of birds and the risk to the general public’s health is very low".

However, researchers worldwide are investigating the risk of other species becoming infected.

Professor Ian Brown, of Apha, told BBC Radio 4's programme, said scientists are "analysing the genetic code of the virus" to establish if bird flu, also known as avian flu, can pass from fox to fox or otter to otter.

"We've recently detected events both here in and around the world - evidence that this virus can on certain occasions jump into other species," he said.

"To be clear, though, this is still a bird virus essentially, that wants to be in birds."

There have been 279 cases of (HPAI) H5N1 in England since the H5N1 outbreak started in October 2021.

"These animals, these are wild mammals, animals that scavenge on sick and dead birds and there's a lot of dead wild birds at the moment due to the bird flu presence around the globe," Professor Brown said.

"What we don't have any evidence of is that it can then go from fox to fox or otter to otter, so these are what we call dead-end infections," he added.

But he agreed that there was no reason why the avian flu virus could not see mammals infecting mammals.

"We have to be watchful, which is why we're enhancing our surveillance in the UK to make sure that we can track and monitor for these changes, so Defra and the devolved administrations are supporting a programme for actively looking mammals that we believe might scavenge and feed on wild birds," he said.

Since October 2021, there have been five confirmed human cases of the H5N1 virus, including one in the UK, and one death, in China.

In the past 20 years, the World Health Organisation documented 870 human cases from 21 countries, 457 of which were fatal.

UK Government guidance says that poultry or most captive birds cannot be vaccinated against bird flu in England, but zoo birds can.