China reports more severe form of bird flu, threat to poultry - WHO

GENEVA/BEIJING -- China is working to assess the prevalence of a new strain of H7N9 bird flu, state radio reported on Wednesday, after global health authorities said the strain had evolved into a more severe form in birds.

So far the variant strain has only been detected in Guangdong province, but given the wide circulation of livestock and poultry in the country, it would be difficult to prevent its spread to other areas, the broadcast said, citing the agriculture ministry.

Until now, the H7N9 virus has shown little or no clinical symptoms in birds, despite being highly pathogenic when it infects human.

But China has detected an evolution in the virus that is capable of causing severe disease in poultry and requires close monitoring, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

Samples of the virus taken from two infected humans were injected into birds in a laboratory and became "highly pathogenic" for poultry, it said.

But that designation applies only to birds, not humans, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said, and there is "no evidence that the changes in the virus affect the virus' ability to spread between humans."

A total of 304 new laboratory-confirmed human infections were reported in mainland China between January 19 and February 14, along with 36 deaths, the WHO said in its latest update on Monday.

The evolution of the virus may mean that the disease will become more apparent in some flocks, if birds begin to die off, making detection and control easier.

"This is the first time these changes have been detected. These are the only two cases in Guangdong province, China. So far, there have been no reports if similar changes have occurred elsewhere," Lindmeier said.

"It is a reminder that we have to keep looking closely," he told Reuters.

Any culling carried out in response to the detection of the virus on farms would be compensated, the Chinese report added.

Animal health experts say bird flu infection rates on Chinese poultry farms may be far higher than previously thought, because the strain of the deadly virus in humans is hard to detect in chickens and geese.

In all, since the "fifth wave" of the virus, first identified in 2013, began in October 2016, 425 human cases have been recorded in China, including 73 deaths officially reported by authorities, according to WHO figures.

"Most of these cases had known exposure to poultry or its environment, that is the main important link to this influenza type," Lindmeier told a news briefing.

In all since 2013, there have been 1,200 laboratory-confirmed cases in China, including more than one-third since October, he said.

source: interaksyon.com

Bird strike grounds United Air flight to Guam

MANILA,Philippines  -- A United Airlines flight to Guam was cancelled Wednesday morning because of a bird strike, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport flight information service said.

Flight UA-190 was supposed to depart at 10:55 a.m.

Airport authorities are still awaiting an advisory from airline officials on when the flight will proceed.

Bird strikes are a threat to flight safety and, in some cases, have caused accidents with casualties.

source: interaksyon.com

10 new owl species discovered in Philippines

Manila - Scientists and birdwatchers have discovered 10 new owl species in the Philippines, using advanced recording equipment that can distinguish between their hoots, a conservation official said Sunday.

Eight of the new species were previously considered sub-species while two are totally new, said Lisa Paguntalan, field director of Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Programme.

"There is no significant variation in their forms. It was the sound difference of their calls that was very significant in distinguishing between species," she told AFP.

Paguntalan warned that many of these new species were possibly endangered because they were found only in small isolated islands or in tiny pockets of forests.

Ornithologists and birdwatchers from Michigan State University, Birdlife International and other groups used museum samples and high-quality photography and recording systems to show the owls were of different species.

The research took 10 years but the results were only announced after coordination between the various groups.

The two new species are the Cebu hawk owl and the Camiguin hawk owl, found in the central Philippine islands of Cebu and Camiguin respectively.

They are described as about eight to 12 inches (20 to 30.5 centimetres) in size and hard to spot.

The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands with diverse animal species evolving in different parts of the country but many of these unique species are threatened by destruction of their habitat.

source: interaksyon.com