Sparrows in China carry bird flu virus
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-10-26 18:45
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," said Li, 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, both 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, Li told the Chutian Metropolitan News published in
Hubei Province.
The finding was published in December of last year in the U.S-based Journal
of Virology, according to the newspaper.
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