Posted on 02/28/2006 8:23:35 PM PST by Rodney King
NASSAU - Health experts were dispatched on Tuesday to the southern Bahamas island of Inagua to find out if an unexplained spate of bird deaths was linked to a deadly bird flu virus that is spreading around the globe.
Over the past two days, 15 of the island's famed flamingos, five roseate spoonbills and one cormorant have been found dead with no external injuries on the island just north of Haiti, officials said.
Scientists from the Bahamas Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Environmental Health will gather samples from the birds and then submit them for laboratory analysis.
"Anything is possible in nature. You have birds that fly around the world," said Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources Leslie Miller, declining to rule out the H5N1 bird flu strain that has killed at least 93 people and spread to 20 new countries in the past month alone.
"But let's hope to God that that is not the case here in the Bahamas," Miller said.
The H5N1 virus is endemic in birds across parts of Asia but has since spread to Europe and Africa. Experts fear it could mutate into a form more easily passed between humans and trigger a pandemic in which millions could die.
Bahamas National Trust president Glenn Bannister said he had never known such a large number of bird deaths in the Bahamas at one time.
"This is a very large number of birds to be found dead at Inagua. This is highly unusual," he said.
Inagua is the second largest breeding ground for flamingos outside of Africa.
Although the three species affected on the island are not migratory birds, Bannister said they come into contact with geese and ducks that migrate to Inagua during the winter.
"Migrating birds are in Inagua all the time," he said. "Every winter they mix right in with the other birds in the ponds. If this is West Nile or bird flu, it will not be good for our bird population."
Inagua is the southernmost island of the Bahamas chain, lying about 60 miles (100 km) from the northern coast of Haiti. It is a large sparsely populated island known primarily for sea salt production.
If true then it will be here in short order. An economic disaster in the making.
Our hemisphere.
has killed at least 93 people
Malaria kills millions every year. Good to see the media has its priorities straight.
I've been there! I had my wind generator repaired at Matthewtown.
Quote
"Good lord, will this cheesy bird flu bogus non-story never die? SARS was supposed to kill us all, too. I guess it's a slow news day and the global warming stories are getting too boring and repetitious."
You obviously have no clue as to the economic impact the disease will have on the world...even if it only remains in birds? Guess not.
The more it spreads the more likely it will mutate. I believe you can come back and say the above statement 5 years from now. A bit early to be calling this a non-story.
heh
Why oh why is this such big news? Yes, the bird flu is spread fairly easily and has covered some long distances, but in places of outbreak, in total, it's killed less than 100 people (not to minimize them, of course). The common flu kills 100's or 1000's every year in the U.S.
Did you say the same thing about SARS? I haven't seen any reason to believe this is a huge threat.....
Flamingos would have no problem making the trip.
In the worst-case scenario, bird flu, a.k.a. H5N1, will infect 2 billion humans, and kill 1 billion of them. (Yes, billions). I hope I don't have to remind you of the impact of that. It will make Katrina seem like nothing worth mentioning. If it happens, the world will basically be shut down. The economy would take at least a decade, if not more, to recover.
The H5N1 influenza is, it seems, extremely contagious among birds.
It has now completely inundated greater Asia, the middle east, Africa and Europe are just now being hit.
Even if it's not in the Bahamas via some superfly bird from Europe (flying against prevailing winds), it will certainly move to South America quickly from Africa, then here - if not via Alaska sooner.
The thing is - isn't its contagion potentially an upside?
Birds will either expire from the virus, or build an immunity. That will happen in Asia, in Europe, Africa, Australia, South America, North Ameria. At some point, won't it "flame out" if it hasn't mutated to humans?
Okay, so dos Flamingo bird flu make them pink, immobile and stand on one leg? If so I've got three sick ones in my front yard.......
Hair on fire alert!!
Yeah, it'll have an impact, human or no.
and Col. Sanders is Pi**ed.....
Right, but it's not looking that way - people had the same concerns about SARS, which has basically died out. "Only" 93 people have died from the bird flu. It could become a pandemic, but I haven't seen any evidence of that yet.
Imagine bird flu in our domestic poultry industry. I think that would be a bigger concern than humans (at this point).
susie
I don't know what Drudge gets off on more-- stories about Gayback Mountain or posting pictures of dead birds?
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