Fresh bird flu outbreak in China, India on alert
Fears of avian flu spreading deepened on Wednesday after China reported another outbreak in poultry while India said it was testing blood samples from 10 dead migratory birds.
There has been a spate of fresh cases in Asia and on the eastern edge of Europe ahead of the winter, when experts say the deadly H5N1 strain thrives best.
Scientists believe migratory birds escaping the harsh northern winter are helping spread the virus, and governments around the world are nervously monitoring their borders and testing wild birds landing on their shores.
In China’s latest case of H5N1 infection, the third since last week, hundreds of chickens and ducks died in a village in central Hunan province.
China had notified the United Nations of the latest outbreak near the provincial capital Changsha on Tuesday, according to a notice on the Web site of the World Organisation for Animal Health (http://www.oie.int).
“The outbreak has been effectively controlled,” the Agriculture Daily newspaper said, quoting the national bird flu laboratory as saying it had identified the strain as H5N1.
China reported on Tuesday another outbreak among farm geese in the eastern province of Anhui and said it, too, had been brought under control with no reported human infections.
China, the world’s most populous nation, has billions of poultry, many living around the homes of farmers. China has had no reported cases of bird flu infection in humans since the latest outbreak begin in late 2003.
The World Health Organisation says 62 people have died in four Southeast Asian nations and 121 infected, a death rate of nearly 50 percent.
At present, most people are infected with bird flu by handling sick birds or through their droppings.
But scientists’ greatest fear is that H5N1 will mutate into a form that will pass easily among people, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions and cripple the global economy.
TAKING NO CHANCES
In populous India, officials are trying to find out what killed 10 dead migratory birds in West Bengal state, a state minister said on Wednesday.
“We are not taking any chances and have sent the blood samples for avian flu tests,” West Bengal Animal Resources Development Minister Anisur Rahaman told Reuters.
West Bengal forest officials said around 40 dead birds had been found in one of the state’s five bird sanctuaries in the past week, but added that the birds could have died after falling from their nests during a storm.
West Bengal receives, among other migratory birds, the Bar-headed Goose and the Great Cormorant, species already reported to be carriers of H5N1.
In Thailand, where 13 people have died of bird flu, the government has reactivated a network of almost 1 million health monitors to try to halt the spread of the disease after new outbreaks in poultry were confirmed in five provinces.
As the virus spreads, world governments are refining plans to tackle a pandemic and cope with the huge potential costs in human lives, trade and economic output.
The Asian Development Bank says even a relatively mild pandemic could cost Asia up to $110 billion from the effects of reduced consumption, investment and trade.
But in preliminary data released ahead of a major report this week, the bank says that figure could more than double in a severe outbreak, triggering a global recession and costing the region $250 billion to $290 billion in the short term.
Disaster management officials from around the Asia-Pacific region will discuss the availability of anti-viral medication when they meet in Australia next week, officials said on Wednesday.
But the United Nations says more must be done to stop the virus spreading among birds in Asia, where farmers often live close to birds and livestock, making it much easier for humans to be infected with the virus.
Humans, along with pigs, horses and cows, are ideal mixing vessels to create a mutant form of bird flu that could easily pass among people.
In Sri Lanka, where chicken curry is one of the staple dishes, officials are stepping up spot checks on poultry farms and wild birds ahead of its migratory bird season.
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