THE H5N1 bird flu virus has struck again in western Europe, perhaps newly introduced via wild birds.
Labs in Germany and the UK say the viruses that killed swans in two outbreaks in the German states of Bavaria and Saxony last month were “closely related, but distinguishable”. This means they did not pass directly between the birds, but had been circulating – perhaps widely. The labs say the strains are very close to the H5N1 found in 2006 in wild water birds in Italy, Siberia and Mongolia, and poultry in Afghanistan and Siberia.
The H5N1 found on Czech turkey farms, also…
