Attention all gonor babus.
The recent report of bird flue from house crows at Phuntsoling is a conern for all of us (Kuensel report 25th Jan 2012).
Infact, as per the report, birds were negative for N1 although they tested positive for H5. As reported, it could be due to a
different strain/varient of bird flu affecting these birds. Another suspects could probably be West Nile Virus (WNV), considering
the type of affected birds and the environmental conditoions of the current case. Although, WNF is not so common in our region,
the WNV antibodies have been detected in patients from Assam (India) and other parts of India (Emerging Infectious Diseases,
Vol.17, No.5, May 2011). Therefore, it is likely that this virus has found its way into our country.
It would be an interesting investigation to look into the presence of this virus in the samples obtained from the affected birds other than the bird flu viruses.
Chenga Tshering
Kagoshima University
Japan