CONSERVATIONISTS fear that wild birds could become the scapegoat as countries in Asia battle to contain the biggest ever bird flu outbreak. 杏吧原创s in China have said they will find the 鈥渟ource鈥� of the flu within a week. The national institute of zoology has already told government-controlled media that it might be spread by wild birds, which are starting their northward migration.
Ornithologists, however, are sceptical. Unlike related bird flu viruses that have been circulating in domestic birds in China since 1996, the current strain appears to kill a wide variety of birds, including ducks, which usually carry bird flu viruses without falling ill. And dead birds, needless to say, do not carry viruses long distances. Only one wild bird in China, a rare peregrine falcon found in Hong Kong last month, has so far been reported to be infected 鈥� and it was dead.