Bird flu ‘could trigger global crisis if unchecked’

THE bird flu strain that killed 24 people in East Asia earlier this year and resurfaced in recent weeks has become endemic to the region, and the virus could trigger a global health crisis if it goes unchecked, according to a new study.

In the study published by science journal Nature, researchers led by a Hong Kong microbiologist found domestic ducks in southern China had played a key role in the creation of the H5N1 flu virus, while wild birds had probably helped its spread through Asia.

Early this year, the virus raged through Asia’s poultry farms, and jumped to humans in cases that were mostly traced to direct contact with sick birds, killing 16 people in Vietnam and eight in Thailand.