The UAE, which has so far remained free of bird flu, is at less risk than other countries in the region because it does not lie along major bird migration routes, avian experts have said.
And that risk is further diminishing because the major movement of birds back to the north for the spring breeding season has almost ended, according to Suhail bin Tarras, who owns the Nad Al Sheba Avian Research Centre.
The H5N1 virus strain is spread from country to country by migrating birds.
Only a tiny proportion of the total number of migrating seagulls and pigeons pass over the UAE, on their way from Russia to warmer climes in Africa.
The main migratory route comes down through Iraq, where two people have died from the virus, and Egypt, where an 18 year old girl from northern Cairo this week became the fourth human fatality in the country.
Flocks of more than 100,000 ply the Iraqi route in both directions each year but those that cross the UAE are mostly made up of less than 100 birds.
And although some of these birds may land to take a break from their gruelling journey, they do not stop for long, because of the lack of food afforded by the UAE's arid desert environment, Tarras said.
He added: "The virus is spread by migration it's the only movement of birds we cannot control. There are no borders in the sky.
"There are a few species that come here seagulls and pigeons and their overall numbers are in the thousands. But this is relatively few. On the main route, you see 100,000 in a flock; here it's maybe 20 or 30.You have more Russian people coming into the UAE than Russian birds." Tarras added: "The birds don't usually stop here because there's no vegetation, and if they do it's often for a rest in the desert or on the coast because they are scared by the noise in the human populated centres. So the risk is less.
"The main migration period was back in February and it should be finishing now because the birds will start breeding." Unless medication eradicates the flu, the risk of birds and humans becoming infected in the UAE will rise again in September, when the next migration begins.
The expert warned: "Up to now we have no bird flu here but we cannot guarantee that it will not come.
People must be vigilant and report dead birds to the authorities." All birds brought by humans into the UAE must be checked in the country they are coming from and are then quarantined for 21 days in centres such as the Nad Al Sheba Avian Research Centre.
Tarras said about 60 birds mostly falcons and exotic birds kept as pets had gone through quarantine, with no cases of the deadly H5N1 strain discovered.
So far, 193 people worldwide have become infected with bird flu, of whom 109 have died.
© Emirates Today 2006
