No avian influenza found among migrating birds yet in Finland

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Dead birds are being constantly sent from around Finland to the National Veterinary and Food Research Institute of Finland (EELA) for examination for possible avian influenza or bird flu. Professor Liisa Sihvonen of the institute’s virological institute, expects the number to continue to rise.
      However, no carriers of the disease have been found in Finland, even though the H5N1 virus appeared to be moving rapidly toward the north of Europe.
     
The virus has already been detected in the south of Sweden. Swans have been carriers of the virus in Europe. About 12,000 pairs of swans have arrived in Finland. In Sweden the virus has been found in a tufted duck.
      "There have to be carriers of the virus somewhere, but only a very small percentage of the birds have caught it. Whether or not it will be detected is a completely different matter", Sihvonen ponders.
      She does not believe that the spread of the virus has slowed down, even though it has not been detected in Finland.
      The mild winter led to an early migration from the east of Europe to warmer parts of the west. Unusually large numbers of birds congregated in resting areas in Germany, for instance, thus favouring the spread of the virus. For instance, there were more swans on the move than in a normal winter.
     
Sihvonen has not seen any unnecessary panic, except perhaps when the virus was detected in Germany and Sweden.
      "It is a matter of time before the virus comes to Finland. Officials are not slacking off", promises Katariina Kainulainen, an epidemiologist at the National Public Health Institute.
      She says that some people have confused two different things. One of these is the danger of a pandemic among humans, and the other is the knowledge that the virus appears in wild birds; she notes that birds can carry many different kinds of viruses.
      "It is important to follow the arrival of the virus to keep it from spreading to poultry, which would cause a rapid spread of the disease and serious economic consequences", she points out.
     
About half of the 100 million birds expected to migrate to Finland this spring are still on their way, says Lauri Hänninen of Birdlife Finland.
      Although most of the birds that come in May are small birds - for instance, ten million pairs of willow warblers will be looking for nesting places - there are also large numbers of water fowl, which have been the most common carriers of the virus.
      Geese and swans have already reached the area, but many duck and other water fowl are still to come.
      Hänninen feels that it is very unlikely for individual people to encounter a sick bird in the wild.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finns satisfied with preparations taken by officials for bird flu (4.4.2006)
  Bird flu expected in Finland in about two weeks (10.3.2006)
  Bird flu moving faster than anticipated; contingency plans for dead birds among migrating flocks (2.3.2006)
  Over 500 calls to bird flu hotline (22.2.2006)

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