#3998
Martin W
Participant

    Der Spiegel article:

    http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,403367,00.html
    “Researchers doubt the migratory bird thesis”
    [“machine translation”]

    How the bird flu came to Germany, is further completely unclear.
    While politicians and veterinarians before the beginning of the bird
    course warn, experts refer to the gaps of the realizations: It seems,
    as if could not have been wild geese, swans and ducks it alone.

    The map of the world became a patch carpet. From China and Viet Nam
    broad itself red fields out: Those countries, in which the bird flu
    virus H5N1 breaks out. Countries seem almost daily to be added,
    recently ever more European. And also when regarding the Germany map
    the patch carpet association forces itself upon. It met ruegen as the
    first, in the midst of H5N1-freier of neighboring countries. The
    brandenburgischen districts concerned do not border evenly on the
    island. East Holstein lies 150 kilometers further west. In order to
    arrive at the Bodensee beach of Ueberlingen or the Mannheimer Rhine
    bank, must the exciter the entire Federal Republic have diagonally
    crossed. Has? Would have? Only how? Flown?

    “it is missed to make migratory birds responsible for the bird flu”,
    said the Executive Secretary of the UN convention about moving animal
    species (CMS), Robert Hepworth. For the spreading of the virus by
    migratory birds give it no scientific vouchers.

    Migratory birds under general suspicion

    Ministers and veterinarians warn unisono of the beginning of the bird
    course in approaching spring. Migratory birds are firstbest
    suspecting. “if game birds the main carriers would be, for example
    between China and Nigeria, then one would nevertheless expect, says
    outbreaks on the distance between them also” Lenten. The dangerous
    virus spread from the east to the west, the relevant bird course
    routes run in north south direction. In the case ruegen it is added
    that many swans concerned were at all no classical migratory birds,
    but at best so-called Kaeltefluechter.

    “I think nothing at all from this theory”, say the micro biologist
    Alexander Kekule of the University of resound Wittenberg. Because
    after everything which one knows, works the virus in swans very fast
    and very strongly. “Kekule fall in few days dead over”, stress.
    “one-way street thinking” calls the ornithologist Klaus Dieter fig
    the thesis that game birds brought the virus in made of Eastern
    Europe, where their breeding districts with those overlap themselves
    to Asia of pulling birds. Cowardly one is a national boss of the
    Ornithologi working group Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

    Thomas Mettenleiter, boss of the Friedrich Loeffler institute speaks
    only of the fact that “puzzlesteine” point on it who can itself have
    moved exciters “stafettenartig” in the federal territory. In Lettland
    of beringter Singschwan is considered as a main suspect: It was one
    of the first animals, with which on ruegen H5N1 one determined.
    During its takeoff it is to have been still healthy. “it was beringt
    in Lettland, but we do not know, where it was infected, says” UN game
    bird advocate Lenten. Officially the Osteekueste of Russia is
    considered until to Usedom as H5N1-frei. Also cases of suspicion were
    so far not announced.

    Fear forwards and aggression against game birds

    But how otherwise the exciter – in living birds, their meat or their
    excrement – could have come to Central Europe? Bert Lenten enumerates
    possibilities: Trade, smuggling, illegal Einfurh of living person or
    totem poultry. “in Eastern Europe even the muck from chicken houses
    is taken as fodder for fischteiche”, said it. “we have the case of a
    swan, that with its Beringung in Hungary were core healthy and two
    days later dead in Croatia were gathered.” Who only concentrates on
    migratory birds as a carrier of H5N1, ignore other infection ways –
    that is dangerous.

    In January the Politpopulist Vladimir Schirinowski in the Russian
    parliament had demanded to shoot all migratory birds with the return
    from their Turkish winter districts. “the government must put a latch
    plate for the bird course forward”, demanded it. In Turkey in January
    four children had died after a H5N1-Infektion. “the birds are to
    remain, where they are”, said the politician.