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Cold snap 'forced flu-carrying birds south' / Weather may explain outbreaks in Japan, but no easy way seen to stem disease's spread
Eiji Noyori and Hiroyuki Oyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
A wave of extremely cold weather this winter is a suspected factor behind the ongoing spread of avian flu in Japan, according to ornithologists.
Flocks of migratory birds infected with an avian flu virus may have arrived in parts of the nation after advancing farther south than in an average year, instead of wintering on the Korean Peninsula. Their arrival may have been an attempt to avoid a wave of cold weather in continental Asia that has intensified since the beginning of this year, experts said.
"The spread [of avian flu] may have become even greater as a result of these birds arriving in this nation after migrating through such highly virus-dense areas as Siberia, China and Mongolia," Hiroyoshi Higuchi, a professor of ornithology at the University of Tokyo, said.
Read more (English) - Yomiuri
Feb. 1, 2011
Eiji Noyori and Hiroyuki Oyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
A wave of extremely cold weather this winter is a suspected factor behind the ongoing spread of avian flu in Japan, according to ornithologists.
Flocks of migratory birds infected with an avian flu virus may have arrived in parts of the nation after advancing farther south than in an average year, instead of wintering on the Korean Peninsula. Their arrival may have been an attempt to avoid a wave of cold weather in continental Asia that has intensified since the beginning of this year, experts said.
"The spread [of avian flu] may have become even greater as a result of these birds arriving in this nation after migrating through such highly virus-dense areas as Siberia, China and Mongolia," Hiroyoshi Higuchi, a professor of ornithology at the University of Tokyo, said.
Read more (English) - Yomiuri
Feb. 1, 2011