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Uganda confirms Avian flu in wild terns, domestic birds

Jan 16, 2017 | 1:00 AM

KAMPALA, Uganda — Tests have confirmed that avian flu is responsible for the mass deaths of wild birds on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda, according to the government.

The species so far hit by the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPAI, are migratory white-winged black terns as well as domestic ducks and chickens, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement Sunday, warning of an imminent “catastrophe.”

Samples from at least two sites, including a beach on the shores of Lake Victoria and elsewhere in central Uganda, have tested positive for HPAI, some strains of which can affect people, said the statement.

It was not clear which strain of the virus is infecting the birds, including the terns that migrate from Europe to Africa during winter.