NZ backyard poultry survey will help understand bird flu spread

NEW ZEALAND - A research project about to get underway in New Zealand is expected to break new ground in understanding how bird flu spreads.

The National Centre for Biosecurity and Infectious Disease will survey backyard poultry flocks and their owners in two North Island areas.

The aim is to find out whether backyard poultry - such as hens, ducks, geese and turkeys - can catch avian influenza from wild bird populations and whether people can be infected as well, under New Zealand conditions.

New Zealand does not have the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu that has spread from Asia into Europe and Africa, but more than 30 mild forms have been identified in wild bird populations here.

They are regarded as harmless to birds and humans.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

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