"Bird Flu Strain Brings New Worries"

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   Feb 22, 2006 ��By Tan Ee Lyn

 HONG KONG (Reuters) - Virus samples taken from wild birds 

found dead in Hong Kong recently were closely linked to a 

strain of the H5N1 virus that surfaced in Japan and South Korea 

in 2004, but not the one spreading in Europe, a top scientist 

said.

 This finding suggests that apart from the strain 

circulating in Europe, there could be a reservoir of another 

strain of the deadly H5N1 virus that is entrenched, probably in 

wild birds, said microbiologist Malik Peiris of the University 

of Hong Kong.

 Experts believe that the more distinct and lethal strains 

there are, the greater would be the risk to humans.

 Eight wild birds and two stray chickens were found dead 

with the H5N1 avian influenza virus over the past month in Hong 

Kong although poultry farms here have not been affected so far.....

http://

abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1647928&page=2

* sorry I mucked up your page I'm clumsy with hypertext markup.

Execellent find!

Edited by Rick

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Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: "Bird Flu Strain Brings New Worries" Posted: February 22 2006 at 2:14pm
	Feb 22, 2006 ��By Tan Ee Lyn HONG KONG (Reuters) - Virus samples taken from wild birds found dead in Hong Kong recently were closely linked to a strain of the H5N1 virus that surfaced in Japan and South Korea in 2004, but not the one spreading in Europe, a top scientist said. This finding suggests that apart from the strain circulating in Europe, there could be a reservoir of another strain of the deadly H5N1 virus that is entrenched, probably in wild birds, said microbiologist Malik Peiris of the University of Hong Kong. Experts believe that the more distinct and lethal strains there are, the greater would be the risk to humans. Eight wild birds and two stray chickens were found dead with the H5N1 avian influenza virus over the past month in Hong Kong although poultry farms here have not been affected so far..... http:// abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1647928&page=2 * sorry I mucked up your page I'm clumsy with hypertext markup. Execellent find! Edited by Rick

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: February 22 2006 at 2:20pm
	Could this topic perhaps be "bf" virus linked to S Korea 2004 Strain ??

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: February 22 2006 at 4:08pm
	jeeeeze - so much for multi-tasking. lol Thanks.

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: February 22 2006 at 5:36pm
	Bird flu strain brings new worries Virus samples taken from wild birds found dead in Hong Kong recently were closely linked to a strain of the H5N1 virus that surfaced in Japan and South Korea in 2004, but not the one spreading in Europe, a top scientist said. Thursday, February 23, 2006 Virus samples taken from wild birds found dead in Hong Kong recently were closely linked to a strain of the H5N1 virus that surfaced in Japan and South Korea in 2004, but not the one spreading in Europe, a top scientist said. This finding suggests that apart from the strain circulating in Europe, there could be a reservoir of another strain of the deadly H5N1 virus that is entrenched, probably in wild birds, said Malik Peiris, a microbiologist at Hong Kong University. Experts believe that the more distinct and lethal strains there are, the greater the risk to humans. Eight wild birds and two stray chickens have been found dead with the H5N1 avian influenza virus over the past month in Hong Kong although poultry farms remain unaffected. Hong Kong scientists analysing samples from the dead birds found that the H5N1 virus genotype, or DNA makeup, belongs to a strain called the V-genotype, which was found in dead birds in Japan and South Korea in 2004, Peiris said late Tuesday. "The viruses are in the process of being genetically analysed, they are similar ... It is the V-genotype, it was found in [bird> outbreaks in Japan and Korea in 2004. They are not identical, but the same genotype," he said. "The Japan outbreak is thought to have been introduced by wild birds as well. So one of the things under investigation is whether this is a genotype that is established in wild birds ... one can't jump to conclusions, but this is one possibility." After inundating many parts of Asia since 2003, the virus has spread rapidly across Europe, into Africa and now India. While most of the more than 90 people it has killed since 2003 contracted the virus directly from birds, experts fear the virus will mutate and spread easily among people in a pandemic that could kill millions. Peiris said the strain spreading in Europe was not linked to the V- genotype, but rather to the strain found in dead migratory birds in China's Qinghai Lake in the middle of last year. The World Health Organization said viruses from Qinghai Lake showed a distinctive mutation that led to greater death rates in birds and mice during tests. More than 6,000 birds died at Qinghai and the WHO said the mutated strain there "signaled an important change in the way the virus interacts with its natural reservoir host." Peiris said the strain in Hong Kong was dissimilar to the virus found in Nigeria or Europe. "Those found in Turkey, Romania and Siberia are all closely related to the one in Qinghai. But the Hong Kong viruses are not closely related to the Qinghai one," he said, adding the V-genotype is not known to have surfaced in countries in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, a dead house crow found in a Cheung Sha Wan residential estate Monday is suspected of having been infected with a form of bird flu. It was not immediately clear from initial tests if the bird had the H5N1 strain, the government said, adding that further tests are being conducted. REUTERS http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_i d=12620&sid=6782645&con_type=1&d_str=20060223