Ministry was unaware of bird deaths

All bird carcasses found on island will be examined

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The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry did not hear about the large number of dead birds found on the island of Jurmo, in the municipality of Korpo in the Turku Archipelago, until yesterday. According to the islanders, hundreds of wood pigeons and lapwings have been found dead on Jurmo in the course of this spring.
      "Only on Tuesday morning did we receive samples of the dead birds found in Jurmo. They will all be examined. I thank the person who provided us with the specimens", comments Matti Aho, head of the Department of Food and Health at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
      According to Aho, the likelihood of a bird flu epidemic in the area diminishes day by day, especially because migration of the aquatic birds has already finished for the most part.
      "Still, we are interested in finding out about mass deaths of birds, such as in Jurmo, so that we might be better prepared to protect the poultry in the area."
      A private sample collector provided the ministry with the samples. Residents of the island regard the mass deaths of the birds as exceptional. The regional veterinary officer Tapio Manninen, in turn, says that based on the information he has received from birdwatchers there is nothing particularly unusual about the deaths.
     
According to Aho, it is sometimes difficult for the authorities to decide whom to listen to. "In this case, the opinions of the residents of Jurmo and the bird enthusiasts seem to be quite different."
      The administrator of the Jurmo bird station Juha Kylänpää explains that he first heard of the deaths several days after Easter from a member of Tringa, the Birding Society of the Helsinki Area, who called him and reported on a few dozen dead wood pigeons found on the island.
     
The station operators first contacted the regional veterinary officer, who affirmed that the birds had been dead for too long for sample-collecting purposes.
      "After that none of the people manning the station have received any new information of exceptional bird deaths", Kylänpää explains.
     
According to Aho, until now the greatest interest has centred on waterfowl.
      "The international perception has been that the avian flu virus is found in ducks in particular. Only the most recent developments affirm that birds of prey may also carry the virus."
      "As far as we know, there have not been significant findings of the virus in wood pigeons and lapwings anywhere. Of regular poultry, we know that the turkey is particularly sensitive to the virus", Aho notes.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Hundreds of dead birds cause consternation in Turku Archipelago (9.5.2006)

Links:
  Municipality of Korpo

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