Japan - did rats carry bird flu?

JAPANESE scientists have raised the possibility that rats may have carried avian flu into four poultry farms in the past month. This worrying possibility suggests the virus may have transmission routes that have not yet been identified or controlled.

Government experts who inspected the farms in the Miyazaki and Okayama prefectures believe rodents infected by wild ducks from China may have carried the highly virulent H5N1 virus.

Nets and coverings were in place at the farms to prevent large migratory birds from coming into contact with the poultry. At three farms they found many dead chickens in areas furthest from the entrance of the coops, which caused them to speculate that wild birds were not the direct carriers.
Toshihiro Ito, professor of veterinary microbiology at Tottori University, who heads the team of specialists speculated that it may be possible that small rodents carried the virus into the chicken coops because although the nets could keep out large birds, such as ducks, they could not have stopped very small animals getting to the chickens.
If the fears were confirmed, it would be almost impossible for farmers to avoid similar outbreaks, the task force said.