La Nina 'may abet' flu pandemics

La Nina events may make flu pandemics more likely, research suggests.

US-based scientists found that the last four pandemics all occurred after La Nina events, which bring cool waters to the surface of the eastern Pacific.

In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), they say that flu-carrying birds may change migratory patterns during La Nina conditions.

However, many other La Nina events have not seen novel flu strains spread around the world, they caution.

Read more: BBC News Science and Environment

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Hong Kong orders chicken cull as bird flu alert raised

[ via BBC News / Business ] 21 Dec

Hong Kong is culling 17,000 chickens after three birds were confirmed to have died from the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in the past week.

The government has banned imports and the sale of live chickens for three weeks after a chicken carcass was found at a wholesale market on Tuesday.

Two wild birds were also found to have died of the the virus. The government said it was tracing the source of the chicken carcass, but it was not clear whether the chicken came from a local farm or was imported.

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