China reports third bird flu outbreak

Fears of avian flu spreading deepened on Wednesday after China reported its third outbreak since last week of the lethal H5N1 bird flu virus...

Fears of avian flu spreading deepened on Wednesday after China reported its third outbreak since last week of the lethal H5N1 bird flu virus strain as hundreds of chickens and ducks died in a village in central Hunan province.

In Europe, Croatia said tests had confirmed H5N1 in wild swans found dead in the eastern part of the country last week. The strain has already been confirmed in Turkey, Romania and European Russia.

There has been a spate of fresh cases in Asia and on the eastern edge of Europe ahead of the winter when H5N1 seems to thrive, experts say. Scientists believe migratory birds escaping the harsh northern winter are helping spread the virus, and governments around the world are nervously monitoring wild birds landing on their shores.

If migratory birds are indeed spreading the virus, then Africa and the Americas could also expect cases, the director general of the UN8217;s Food and Agriculture Organisation said this week.

China had notified the UN of the latest outbreak near the provincial capital Changsha on Tuesday, according to a notice on the Web site of the World Organisation for Animal Health http://www.oie.int. Agriculture Daily newspaper said the outbreak had been 8220;effectively controlled8221;. Another outbreak among farm geese in the eastern province of Anhui was reported on Tuesday, though it too was said to have been brought under control.

China has billions of poultry, many living around the homes of farmers. China has had no reported cases of bird flu infection in humans since the latest outbreak begin in late 2003.

The World Health Organisation says 62 people have died in four Southeast Asian nations and 121 infected, a death rate of nearly 50 per cent. But scientists8217; greatest fear is that H5N1 will mutate into a form that will pass among people, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions and cripple the global economy.

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The Asian Development Bank says even a mild pandemic could cost Asia up to 110 billion from reduced investment and trade. 8212;Reuters