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Sweden finds mink infected with bird flu virus

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  • Sweden finds mink infected with bird flu virus

    http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B738237.htm

    Sweden finds mink infected with bird flu virus

    STOCKHOLM, March 27 (Reuters) - Swedish veterinarians have found a mink with an aggressive form of the H5 bird flu virus and had the mammal put down, the National Veterinary Institute said on Monday.


    The animal was found in the Blekinge region of south Sweden, an area where several bird flu cases have been found. What is initially described as an aggressive form of H5 bird flu is often later confirmed as the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.


    The mink probably got the disease from eating wild birds which were already infected, the Institute said in a statement.


    The H5N1 bird flu virus can infect humans who come into contact with infected poultry and has killed more than 100 people since late 2003.


    The virus has also recently been detected in a marten, a weasel-like mammal, and cats in Germany, and a dog in Azerbaijan.


    The World Health Organisation says that so far only domestic poultry are known to have played a role in transmitting the virus from animals to humans, but it has called for further investigation into the significance of infection in other mammals.

  • #2
    Bird flu detected in Swedish mink

    Bird flu detected in Swedish mink

    Swedish authorities say they have found a wild mink infected with bird flu, suspected to be the deadly H5N1 strain.

    It?s the first time in Sweden that a highly pathogenic version of the H5 virus has been confirmed in an animal other than a bird.


    Dozens of birds in Sweden have tested positive for the H5N1 virus since the first case was confirmed two weeks ago.
    All of the suspected cases tested so far have turned out to be the deadly strain


    The mink found in Solvesborg, in southeastern Sweden, was believed to have contracted the disease by eating an infected bird.
    The H5N1 virus has killed 105 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. There have been no human cases in Sweden.




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    • #3
      Re: Sweden finds mink infected with bird flu virus

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      http://www.recombinomics.com/News/03...H5N1_Mink.html

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