An avian flu outbreak has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of cranes in Hungary and threatens to spread across Europe, environmental protection organisation Natuurpunt warns.
The epidemic in Hungary affected birds from Finland, where a flock of 200,000 were gathered. Between 20,000 and 30,000 cranes have died in Hungary.
Bird migrations could facilitate virus spread across Europe, as some flight paths overlap others.
Initial suspicious crane deaths have also been reported in Italy and in Gallocanta, Spain. The bodies are set to be analysed.
Gallocanta is the largest gathering place for cranes migrating from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, via Belgium, to southern Europe.
Only a wet winter in Spain and France could help curb the epidemic, Natuurpunt suggests. Indeed, in wet and flooded areas, birds are more widely dispersed overnight, reducing the virus’s ability to spread.
If the avian flu keeps spreading, “the crane population could completely collapse in a single winter and efforts spanning decades could be swiftly wiped out,” the environmental protection association warns.
A crane affected by the H5N1 variant of the bird flu virus will present initial symptoms within a few hours and usually dies in three days. Birds often die from drowning, as they are too weak to keep their heads above water.
