H5N1 bird flu virus hits ducks, geese in N. Iran
Pastor Dale Morgan
H5N1 bird flu virus hits ducks, geese in N. Iran*
18 Jan 2008 13:36:00 GMT
Source: Reuters
TEHRAN, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been found
in ducks and geese in northern Iran after affecting swans there, but no
human cases have been reported, an official was quoted on Friday as saying.
H5N1 is the bird flu strain that scientists worry could mutate into a
form easily passed between humans. Iran first reported H5N1 in 2006,
when the virus was found in wild swans in the northern province of
Mazandaran.
"Laboratory tests ... confirmed that Iran's wild and native birds had
the H5N1 bird flu virus," the student news agency ISNA quoted Mojtaba
Norouzi, head of Iran's Veterinary Organisation, as saying.
"The virus first seen in wild swans in the area ... has been found among
native ducks and geese around the northern village of Barzanghib in
Iran's Mazandaran province."
Norouzi said the situation was under control and authorities had culled
all birds in the village. With thousands of migratory geese, ducks and
other wildfowl heading for the province for the winter, local
authorities are on high alert, he said.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by Timothy Heritage)