Source: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news_dig...52325000&ty=nd
Bird flu still present in a harmless form
Harmless variations of bird flu are present in the Lake Constance region but deadly cases of the H5N1 strain have not been detected since 2006, researchers say.
The non-virulent strains are particularly rampant in mute swans, where 80 per cent of the local population has been infected, according to the findings of a study presented on Tuesday at a conference on the bird-flu situation.
Over the past three years 554 black swans were tested as a part of the Constance research project, carried out by eight research institutes in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Britain.
Around 50 wild birds of the 2,100 animals tested were found to be carriers of harmless strains of the virus. There were no cases of the potentially deadly H5N1 strain, found in waterbirds in Lake Constance in 2005 and 2006.
The study also found that breeders were ill informed about the virus, with just two per cent of 1,500 people questioned in Switzerland aware that ducks and geese could transmit it without becoming ill. Researchers said the lack of knowledge could be problematic as waterbirds could be bred alongside chicken and turkeys.
Also worrying was the finding that 23 per cent of breeders admitted burying dead birds in the forest where they could be eaten by wild animals, a factor that could increase the risk of transmission of the disease from animals to humans.
swissinfo.ch with agencies
Bird flu still present in a harmless form
Harmless variations of bird flu are present in the Lake Constance region but deadly cases of the H5N1 strain have not been detected since 2006, researchers say.
The non-virulent strains are particularly rampant in mute swans, where 80 per cent of the local population has been infected, according to the findings of a study presented on Tuesday at a conference on the bird-flu situation.
Over the past three years 554 black swans were tested as a part of the Constance research project, carried out by eight research institutes in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Britain.
Around 50 wild birds of the 2,100 animals tested were found to be carriers of harmless strains of the virus. There were no cases of the potentially deadly H5N1 strain, found in waterbirds in Lake Constance in 2005 and 2006.
The study also found that breeders were ill informed about the virus, with just two per cent of 1,500 people questioned in Switzerland aware that ducks and geese could transmit it without becoming ill. Researchers said the lack of knowledge could be problematic as waterbirds could be bred alongside chicken and turkeys.
Also worrying was the finding that 23 per cent of breeders admitted burying dead birds in the forest where they could be eaten by wild animals, a factor that could increase the risk of transmission of the disease from animals to humans.
swissinfo.ch with agencies
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