Women
Network >> Health
& Environment
It's long been known that ducks, swans and geese can carry bird flu viruses, and now the Asian bird flu is turning up in Europe as found in Greece, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Germany that mute swans killed by the H5N1 virus. Dead swans found in Denmark are still being tested. Some health officials say these discoveries show that waterfowl are moving the virus around but ornithologists say this case is far from proven.
Peter Marra, a migration expert at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C said that about 30 percent of ducks might be carrying some form of low pathogenic avian influenza, which doesn't hurt them or other ducks or animals that they might interact with. It used to be assumed that the virulent H5N1 virus killed migrating waterfowl before they traveled anywhere, but that assumption has taken some hits in recent months.
Last week, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that some migratory waterfowl can live with the virus inside them. The virus started spreading last fall along migratory pathways that took it west to the Black Sea and then south into Africa. Migrating waterfowl are delivering the dreaded Asian bird flu to poultry farms, by flying overhead and defecating on flocks or in nearby waters.
Meanwhile, Michael Fry, a migration expert with the American Bird Conservancy said that wild birds were victims of the bird flu, but he didn't think those birds are really spreading the disease.
Fry says there are several problems with the waterfowl-as-carriers theory. First, while it's clear that migrating birds pick this virus up at poultry farms, there's no evidence linking their droppings to subsequent die-offs.
He said that there are many places that waterfowl go that if they were with any frequency carrying the disease, this disease would be everywhere.
Health officials need to focus less on ducks, swans and geese, and more on other ways the virus may be spreading. They should start by making sure poor poultry farmers are compensated when they kill infected flocks, lest they sell off birds that don't appear sick.
Fry suspects that sales like these have been driving the spread of H5N1 virus to a much greater extent than migrating waterfowl.
 |
Bird Flu to Europe
It's long been known that ducks, swans and geese can carry bird flu viruses, and now the Asian bird flu is turning up in Europe as found in Greece, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Germany that mute swans killed by the H5N1 virus. Dead swans found in Denmark are still being tested. Some health officials say these discoveries show that waterfowl are moving the virus around but ornithologists say this case is far from proven.Peter Marra, a migration expert at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C said that about 30 percent of ducks might be carrying some form of low pathogenic avian influenza, which doesn't hurt them or other ducks or animals that they might interact with. It used to be assumed that the virulent H5N1 virus killed migrating waterfowl before they traveled anywhere, but that assumption has taken some hits in recent months.
Last week, a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that some migratory waterfowl can live with the virus inside them. The virus started spreading last fall along migratory pathways that took it west to the Black Sea and then south into Africa. Migrating waterfowl are delivering the dreaded Asian bird flu to poultry farms, by flying overhead and defecating on flocks or in nearby waters.
Meanwhile, Michael Fry, a migration expert with the American Bird Conservancy said that wild birds were victims of the bird flu, but he didn't think those birds are really spreading the disease.
Fry says there are several problems with the waterfowl-as-carriers theory. First, while it's clear that migrating birds pick this virus up at poultry farms, there's no evidence linking their droppings to subsequent die-offs.
He said that there are many places that waterfowl go that if they were with any frequency carrying the disease, this disease would be everywhere.
Health officials need to focus less on ducks, swans and geese, and more on other ways the virus may be spreading. They should start by making sure poor poultry farmers are compensated when they kill infected flocks, lest they sell off birds that don't appear sick.
Fry suspects that sales like these have been driving the spread of H5N1 virus to a much greater extent than migrating waterfowl.
Home
Women Partner
Links to this post:
Create a Link
~ back home