Indian health authorities are worried that migratory birds from China which flock to India every winter may bring with them the avian flu virus, news reports said Thursday. Scientists in western China recently found a deadly strain of the the bird flu in bar-headed geese which fly to warmer Indian climes in October every year from reserves in Tibet, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported. About 1,500 geese had reportedly died of the virus. The Indian Health Ministry has put together a massive surveillance programme in anticipation that some of the 10,000 or more feathered visitors may carry the H5N1 avian influenza virus. The Ministry of Environment along with the department of wetlands and the Bombay Natural History Society has shortlisted 115 bird sanctuaries in the country which are common destinations for these birds. These include wetlands as far apart as the state of Andhra Pradesh in the south, Orissa in the east, Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast, the northern hill state of Himachal Pradesh and the remote Indian Ocean islands of Andaman and Nicobar. "The bar-headed goose is a scientist's delight. It's a beautiful bird. But it has been found carrying the H5N1 virus. We are worried that they may pass it onto ducks and waterfowl cohabiting with them in the lakes and these may in turn pass them on to domestic fowl," said S.K. Bandopadhyay, India's animal husbandry commissioner. Bandopadhyay said domestic fowl in the vicinity of the migratory birds would be constantly tested to make sure they were not affected by the virus. Humans who have contracted the virus have been in direct contact with infected chickens and ducks. --mor 1411 Local Time 1111 GMT
