Scientists have recently discovered an outbreak of the avian or bird flu in wild geese in the western regions of China. Because the geese migrate, researchers fear the they could spread the disease far beyond its present location.
'These birds can fly one thousand miles a day at maximum,' Yi Guan, of the University of Hong Kong, told the BBC. 'This means the virus has the opportunity to expand its distribution to currently virus-free areas.'
A report published in the latest edition of 'Science and Nature' indicates that the bird flu virus has now been transmitted for the first time between wild birds. Previously, it had only been transmitted between domestic animals.
The bird flu was first detected in wild geese on April 30 in the Lake Qinghaihu nature reserve in Qinghai Province. By May 20, approximately 1,500 birds had died from the disease including wild geese and two types of wild gulls.
Jinhua Liu led a group of researchers who published an article in 'Science' magazine. They fear that the virus is spreading very quickly and may soon threaten humans in large numbers.
'The occurrence of highly pathogenic H5N1 AIV infection in migrant waterfowl indicates that this virus has the potential to be a global threat,' Liu and his group wrote in 'Science.'
Researchers from the World Health Organization have warned that if the bird flu virus mutates so it can spread directly from human-to-human, a worldwide pandemic is possible that could kill as many as 40 million people worldwide.
