Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Avian influenza reaches Iran
Authorities in Iran have confirmed cases of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza on Tuesday after wild swans tested positive for the virus.
Experts had been saying for some time now that it was only a matter of time before the H5N1 virus started infecting the wild fowl that winter in Iran.
“International laboratory results confirm that some wild swans died from bird flu,” a statement from Iran’s veterinary organization said.
Samples taken from a flock of 130 wild swans, found dead in wetlands near the Caspian Sea port of Bandar-e Anzali on Iran’s northern coast, showed positive for the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.
The disease seems to be moving at an accelerated rate throughout the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Ther have been no reports yet of the virus mutating into a strain that can easily be transmitted from human to human.