Chinese scientists recently reported that they found H5N1 bird
flu virus in sparrows two years ago, the first time the virus has
been detected in the common, non-migratory bird on the Chinese
mainland.
Wuhan Institute of Virology in central China's Hubei Province tested excrement samples from
38 sparrows after an outbreak of bird flu in a county in Henan Province in 2004. Some of samples tested
positive of H5N1 virus, said Li Tianxian, a researcher with the
institute.
"There's no need for the public to panic. The findings are two
years old and there is no indication that sparrows pose a risk," Li
said, adding that scientists found the bird flu virus in sparrows
in the region of Hong Kong in 2002 and also in Turkey and South
Africa.
Working with the Beijing Institute of Zoology, under the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, the scientists isolated four H5N1 strains
among the 25 positive excrement samples.
Li said tests on the four strains have shown they are a new
genotype of H5N1, adding that researchers did not find dead
sparrows.
It was thought that bird flu was mainly transmitted by migratory
water fowl, but this finding proves that non-migratory birds are
also a potential channel for bird flu transmission, she told a
local newspaper in Hubei Province. The finding was published in
December of last year in the U.S-based Journal of Virology,
according to the newspaper.
Recent outbreaks of bird flu have again put the nation on alert
for the potentially deadly disease.
In late September and early October, China reported two new
outbreaks of bird flu in poultry, which killed at least 2,000
domestic fowl in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
The quarantine imposed on Jiuyuan District of Baotou city of
Inner Mongolia where the outbreak occurred was lifted on
Wednesday.
Yin Chengjie, Vice-Minister of Agriculture, has warned that
autumn and winter were critical periods, urging officials to be
aware of the dangers of bird flu and not underestimate the
difficulty of controlling it.
Zeng Guang, an expert with China's Center for Disease Control
and Prevention has also warned of the possibility of a major bird
flu outbreak in China this winter or next spring, saying that such
an outbreak would probably take place as common flu cases reach
their peak.
(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2006)