July 8, 2005

China's migratory geese might spread bird flu to India and Europe
 

Researchers have reported that bird flu might spread to India and Europe through migratory geese in China's Qinghai province, following the recent outbreak there.

The infected birds were discovered in China's Qinghai province, a breeding ground for bar-headed geese that migrate to Siberia, Myanmar, Australia, New Zealand and over the Himalayas into India. From India, the virus might then spread to Europe.

However, other researchers stated that the virus might die off along with the majority of migratory birds that had already died during the outbreak in Qinghai.

There were also concerns that the virus was being transmitted among wild birds that have had no known contact with domesticated birds, as no poultry deaths from bird flu were reported in Qinghai.

So far, it is still unknown how the migratory birds in Qinghai acquired the bird flu virus.