Subject: Outbreaks of avian influenza H5N1 in 2007 [Print This Page] Author: HKBWS WY Time: 10/02/2007 10:09 Subject: Outbreaks of avian influenza H5N1 in 2007
News from BirdLife International
09-02-2007
Outbreaks of avian influenza H5N1 in 2007
Late in 2006 and early in 2007, new H5N1 outbreaks in poultry were reported in Vietnam (where the disease spread rapidly), Nigeria, Thailand (the first outbreak in six months), South Korea and Japan. There were no corresponding outbreaks among wild birds in these countries. The cause of the outbreaks in South Korea and Japan, which had been free of H5N1 since 2004, remains unknown.
In Hong Kong, H5N1 was confirmed in a chicken that had been illegally imported from China, and in several dead wild birds of various species. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the wild birds may have been (or could have preyed upon) captive individuals bought for so-called ‘prayer release’. However, this hypothesis remains unconfirmed. Apart from these Hong Kong cases, no cases of H5N1 in wild birds have been confirmed since August 2006......
