With golf season beginning across much of the U.S., the possibility of bird flu being introduced by migrating birds is once again a concern. And since golf courses are common gathering places for migratory birds, golf course workers and golfers are wise to be interested in the subject.

The encouraging news is that two recent reports in the New York Times indicate that migrating birds in Europe have not spread the disease as expected, and that the disease seems to have waned in the countries where it was discovered

According to an article written by Elisabeth Rosenthal, the disease was expected to spread to Africa during the southward migration and return to Europe with a vengeance during the reverse migration this spring, but it didn't happen.

"It is quiet now in terms of cases, which is contrary to what many people had expected," said Ward Hagemeijer, a bird flu specialist with Wetlands International, an environmental group based in the Netherlands that studies migratory birds.

In thousands of samples collected in Africa this winter, the bird flu virus, A(H5N1), was not detected in a single wild bird, health officials and scientists said. In Europe, only a few cases have been detected in wild birds since April 1, at the height of the migration north.

For more, read http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/11/world/europe/11birdflu.html (Free registration required)

In addition, Donald G. McNeil Jr. wrote in the New York Times that in the countries where avian influenza was first reported, including Vietnam, Thailand and China, there are signs that it is being brought under control, thanks to massive efforts to contain and eradicate it.

Health officials have noted, however, that the virus has moved across continents and in places such as Myanmar and Indonesia it is still raging. Worse, the infection could return to these places in chicks, fighting birds, pets, or migrating birds.

About the situation currently, McNeil wrote, "But this sudden success in the former epicenter of the epidemic is proof that aggressive measures like killing infected chickens, inoculating healthy ones, protecting domestic flocks and educating farmers can work, even in very poor countries." For more, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/world/asia/14flu.html

Now, GCSAA members can get a free Information Packet about Avian Influenza online. The packet includes links to a number of resources on the subject from OSHA, the USDA and the World Health Organization.