THE deadly bird-flu virus H5N1 escaped the Asian henhouses this year and headed west. A massive outbreak of a distinctive strain among water birds at Qinghai Lake in China, and its subsequent spread along their migratory pathways as far as Turkey and Romania, meant its presence in wild birds could no longer be denied.
The fear now is that migrant birds will carry the virus into Africa, where millions of vulnerable poultry live in close contact with people, many with immune systems impaired by tropical diseases, HIV and hunger. Could this prove to be the lethal mix that leads to…
