Tue, Feb 01, 2011
The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network
A wave of extremely cold weather this winter is a suspected factor behind the ongoing spread of avian flu in Japan, according to ornithologists.
Flocks of migratory birds infected with an avian flu virus may have arrived in parts of the nation after advancing farther south than in an average year, instead of wintering on the Korean Peninsula. Their arrival may have been an attempt to avoid a wave of cold weather in continental Asia that has intensified since the beginning of this year, experts said.
"The spread [of avian flu] may have become even greater as a result of these birds arriving in this nation after migrating through such highly virus-dense areas as Siberia, China and Mongolia," Hiroyoshi Higuchi, a professor of ornithology at the University of Tokyo, said.
The highly virulent H5N1 avian flu has spread nationwide. Cases of bird flu infection have been found in nine prefectures, including those that have come to light in four prefectures since early this year.
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