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Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE63621S20100408
Cold fronts linked to bird flu outbreaks in Europe
Thu Apr 8, 2010 5:03pm EDT
* Cold snaps caused change in wild bird migration patterns
* Freezing forecasts may help predict future outbreaks
By Kate Kelland
LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - Outbreaks of H5N1 flu among birds in Europe came at the edges of cold fronts that caused wild birds to change migration patterns, scientists said on Thursday, suggesting cold snaps may signal future outbreaks.
Dutch and American researchers found European outbreaks of avian influenza during the 2005-2006 winter were driven by collective movements of wild waterbirds to places where the fresh water they need to feed and survive had not frozen.
"This has important implications for surveillance, which should target areas where temperatures are close to freezing in winter, especially in poultry-dense regions close to areas where waterfowl aggregate," the researchers wrote in a study in the Public Library of Science journal PloS Pathogens.
The study can be found here...
Cold fronts linked to bird flu outbreaks in Europe
Thu Apr 8, 2010 5:03pm EDT
* Cold snaps caused change in wild bird migration patterns
* Freezing forecasts may help predict future outbreaks
By Kate Kelland
LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - Outbreaks of H5N1 flu among birds in Europe came at the edges of cold fronts that caused wild birds to change migration patterns, scientists said on Thursday, suggesting cold snaps may signal future outbreaks.
Dutch and American researchers found European outbreaks of avian influenza during the 2005-2006 winter were driven by collective movements of wild waterbirds to places where the fresh water they need to feed and survive had not frozen.
"This has important implications for surveillance, which should target areas where temperatures are close to freezing in winter, especially in poultry-dense regions close to areas where waterfowl aggregate," the researchers wrote in a study in the Public Library of Science journal PloS Pathogens.
The study can be found here...
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