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What's happening at Athalassa Lake?
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DAILY BLAMES VET SERVICES AFTER BIRD FLU SPLASH
August 26, 2006 (Cyprus Mail)
Daily Phileleftheros yesterday accused Veterinary Services of setting off a ?mistaken alarm? upon announcing that test results on dead ducks found in Athalassa Lake had located the presence of the H7 strain of virus. The daily called for those responsible for the alleged error to be held accountable.
The accusations from Phileleftheros came a day after the paper had splashed ?Bird flu has come? across its front page, a dramatic claim that proved later that day to be an embarrassment to the top selling daily when lab test results from England confirmed that the birds did not carry the fatal virus.
Phileleftheros has chosen to defend its decision to run with Thursday?s headline, placing the blame instead squarely with Veterinary Services for reporting in its preliminary test results that the birds appeared to carry the H7 virus.
But Veterinary Services Director George Neophytou told the Cyprus Mail that although the test results in Cyprus did indicate that the birds were infected with the H7 virus, the preliminary results were ?not conclusive?, which is why they were waiting for final results from Britain before making any assertions.
Neophytou also noted that H7 was ?not dangerous in wild birds? and is a ?low pathogenic virus? that is not the fatal bird flu strain. The head of Veterinary Services added that even if the dead ducks had been infected with H7, that would still not signify that bird flu had come to Cyprus.
?Only H5N1 is considered to be dangerous [to humans] and we ruled out its presence upon testing the ducks,? Neophytou said.
UK test results determined that the birds were infected with the H1 strain of flu, which, as Veterinary Services reported on Thursday, ?has nothing to do with bird flu? [and] therefore gives no reason for concern.?
Source: www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=27546&cat_id=1
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DAILY BLAMES VET SERVICES AFTER BIRD FLU SPLASH
August 26, 2006 (Cyprus Mail)
Daily Phileleftheros yesterday accused Veterinary Services of setting off a ?mistaken alarm? upon announcing that test results on dead ducks found in Athalassa Lake had located the presence of the H7 strain of virus. The daily called for those responsible for the alleged error to be held accountable.
The accusations from Phileleftheros came a day after the paper had splashed ?Bird flu has come? across its front page, a dramatic claim that proved later that day to be an embarrassment to the top selling daily when lab test results from England confirmed that the birds did not carry the fatal virus.
Phileleftheros has chosen to defend its decision to run with Thursday?s headline, placing the blame instead squarely with Veterinary Services for reporting in its preliminary test results that the birds appeared to carry the H7 virus.
But Veterinary Services Director George Neophytou told the Cyprus Mail that although the test results in Cyprus did indicate that the birds were infected with the H7 virus, the preliminary results were ?not conclusive?, which is why they were waiting for final results from Britain before making any assertions.
Neophytou also noted that H7 was ?not dangerous in wild birds? and is a ?low pathogenic virus? that is not the fatal bird flu strain. The head of Veterinary Services added that even if the dead ducks had been infected with H7, that would still not signify that bird flu had come to Cyprus.
?Only H5N1 is considered to be dangerous [to humans] and we ruled out its presence upon testing the ducks,? Neophytou said.
UK test results determined that the birds were infected with the H1 strain of flu, which, as Veterinary Services reported on Thursday, ?has nothing to do with bird flu? [and] therefore gives no reason for concern.?
Source: www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=27546&cat_id=1