Avian Flu Update 17 Feb 2006
Forbes.com reports that H5N1 avian “bird flu” virus is spreading through Romania.
[tease]
Romanian health authorities have confirmed the presence of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the southeastern village of Ostrov, bringing to 31 the number of villages affected by the virus.
And a high-visibility US politician is talking in public about getting ready for an avian flu pandemic, should it occur:
Jeb Bush says people should prepare to fend for themselves if a bird flu pandemic hits.
The Independent (online edition) reports that a German island is littered with swans killed by H5N1.
[tease]
The German Baltic island of Ruegen is littered with the corpses of at least 100 swans just 24 hours after the authorities discovered three dead birds with H5N1 virus on its shores.
The leader of a team recovering the birds on Germany’s biggest island said he was overwhelmed by the number of dead birds.
[tease]
Albert Osterhaus, chairman of the European scientific working group on avian flu, said other migratory birds are probably the main cause of the spread. ” Swans fly no more than 50km a day. Looking at the way the disease has spread one day it’s in Italy, a day later it’s in the north of Germany that makes us believe that there are other bird species spreading the disease.”