WILD birds so far don鈥檛 seem to be responsible for spreading bird flu through east Asia. That鈥檚 the conclusion of Japanese authorities, who have found bird flu virus in dead crows close to two chicken farms near Kyoto at which flu has broken out in the past few weeks. They say the crows died of the disease too soon to have spread it. 鈥淥nce a crow contracts flu, it dies quickly,鈥� a ministry official told journalists on Monday.
Several governments in east Asia had claimed that wild birds were to blame for spreading the bird flu that has been ravaging the region. This could have led to pressure for culling wild birds, but evidence has not backed up the idea. The virus has not been found in ducks, which normally carry bird flu but also die quickly of the strain causing Asia鈥檚 outbreak.
Direct transmission between chicken farms is a much more likely route. Andre Farrar of the UK鈥檚 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds adds that the pattern of disease transmission so far does not match the migration routes of any wild birds.
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