Ancestors help Czechs escape bird flu
Tue, 14 Mar 2006
The Czech State Veterinary Office said on Monday that 1153 tests have been carried out for bird flu on wild and domestic birds since the start of the year without any confirmed cases.
Czechs can perhaps thank their ancestors for the deliverance so far.
"Perhaps it is thanks to our ancestors and their choice of the Czech Republic that we have avoided bird flu in this country, the same way as in the mid-14th century we were not affected by the black death," the veterinary office spokesperson Josef Duben suggested in a press release.
The Czech Republic stands out as the sole country in central and eastern Europe to be unaffected so far by bird flu. Poland was the latest of its neighbours ? which also include Austria, Germany and Slovakia ? to be hit by the virus.
Some ornithologists prefer to credit the Czech escape to the fact that most migrating birds, especially waterfowl, tend to pass over the country.
AFP
http://iafrica.com/news/quirky/972351.htm
Tue, 14 Mar 2006
The Czech State Veterinary Office said on Monday that 1153 tests have been carried out for bird flu on wild and domestic birds since the start of the year without any confirmed cases.
Czechs can perhaps thank their ancestors for the deliverance so far.
"Perhaps it is thanks to our ancestors and their choice of the Czech Republic that we have avoided bird flu in this country, the same way as in the mid-14th century we were not affected by the black death," the veterinary office spokesperson Josef Duben suggested in a press release.
The Czech Republic stands out as the sole country in central and eastern Europe to be unaffected so far by bird flu. Poland was the latest of its neighbours ? which also include Austria, Germany and Slovakia ? to be hit by the virus.
Some ornithologists prefer to credit the Czech escape to the fact that most migrating birds, especially waterfowl, tend to pass over the country.
AFP
http://iafrica.com/news/quirky/972351.htm