Avian Flu Kills More Migrating Birds

The number of birds dying from a dangerous strain of avian influenza found at Mighan Lagoon wetland in Markazi Province has surpassed 2,400, said Reza Mirzaei, deputy head of Environmental Monitoring and Assessment at the provincial office of the Department of Environment. “Over 2,422 dead birds carrying the H5N8 virus were found at the wetland most of which are greylag geese, as well as other species of migrating birds,” he said on Saturday, IRNA reported. The Iran Veterinary Organization reported last week that the virus has been detected in 11 provinces of Markazi, Alborz, Qom, East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Kermanshah, Mazandaran, Golestan, Gilan, Lorestan and Tehran. Iran has also culled hundreds of thousands of birds over the past month as avian flu spread across the country, according to local news outlets. The highly contagious H5N8 virus has been reported in at least 50 countries over the past few months.