More H5N1 Spread in Poland
Recombinomics Commentary
December 12, 2007
The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in two new sites in Poland on Wednesday, an official said.
In the afternoon a new site was found at a small farm near the city of Elblag, in northern Poland, chief veterinary officer Ewa Lech told Reuters.
"Unfortunately we had detected the bird flu at a sixth site, a small farm with about 40 birds. This is an entirely new location," said Lech.
Lech also confirmed a report earlier on Wednesday that bird flu was also detected in wild birds near the town of Orneta, northeastern Poland.
The above comments describe another location positive for H5N1 (see satellite map). These four distinct locations, involving at least 7 sites, suggest H5N1 in Poland may be widespread. Moreover, since these outbreaks are likely to be linked to wild birds, outbreaks in neighboring countries are expected. The 2007 locations are not far from wild bird outbreaks in Poland 2006 (see satellite map).
Recently H5N1 was confirmed in Romania and Rostov. It is likely that H5N1 is silently spread in the wild bird populations in Europe, leading to more frequent detection on farms.
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