H7N3 in a Taiwanese "migratory bird"

From Reuters:

TAIPEI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan found a highly pathogenic strain of avian flu, H7N3, in droppings left by a migratory bird and is carrying out tests to see if the virus has spread to nearby poultry farms, the agriculture department said on Monday. Like the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed more than 60 people around Asia, the H7N3 strain can infect humans, said an official at the Council of Agriculture.

From AFX:

'It is not sure if the strain is a virulent or less virulent form,' Huang Kuo-ching, a bureau section chief, told Agence france-Presse, adding that no dead birds have been found in the area.

Finding H7N3 in a "migratory bird" (what species?!) is not particularly surprising - avian influenzas are quite common in migratory birds. It would be unusual if this is a highly pathogenic strain of H7N3, as high path avian influenzas have been rarely isolated from wild birds (summary of 04/05 isolations in this ProMED post). Aside from an outbreak in South Africa in common terns in the early 1960s, 2005 was the first year where significant numbers of wild birds were affected by high pathogenic avian influenza in the absence of nearby infected poultry populations (i.e., the Mongolia outbreak and possibly the QInghai outbreak).

As with the low path H5N1 in Italy, this strain could turn out to be low path H7N3.

For info on the high path H7N3 outbreak in British Columbia in 2004, click here.

Damien