Beware the Starlings: Common birds can carry avian influenza
By Brian Vastag
Starlings, introduced into North America from Europe in the 19th century, have become a widespread nuisance. And they just got more annoying: It turns out they’re good at carrying bird flu.
During the past two winters, common songbirds in Hong Kong “have been dropping dead out of the sky,” says Robert Webster, an infectious-diseases specialist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Some of those birds died from avian influenza. Webster and his colleagues wanted to know what role the birds might play in spreading the virus.