Experts say warm weather won't put lid on H5N1 virus
HONG KONG - The return of warmer weather to the northern hemisphere is unlikely to bring a let-up in the deadly H5N1 virus because it is already endemic in poultry flocks in several parts of Asia, experts say.Scientists previously found the bird flu virus to be most active from October to March when temperatures are cooler or below 20 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit), but now they are warning against any complacency with the return of summer.
"I don't think it will go away in the summer months, it will continue to be in poultry," said Hong Kong microbiologist Malik Peiris, who has studied the virus since 1997, when it made its first known jump to humans in Hong Kong, killing six people.
"The virus has been persisting in quite diverse climates, such as Indonesia, where it is hot ... to a large extent it has been maintained in poultry flocks."
Source: Reuters
25 April 2006
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