Nacional’s reporters visited Lake Balaton in Hungary and the Centre for Ornithology in Budapest, where they spoke with the scientists who in September marked the swans which were later found dead in Croatia After it was established last week that the swans found dead near Orahovica had been ringed by ornithologists at Lake Balaton, Nacional’s reporters visited Lake Balaton. Though there are currently no large flocks of these lovely birds on the lake due to migration, we succeeded in finding several birds in the area near to where the dead birds were ringed. Though tourist season is long over, the beautiful weather brought out numerous walkers and fisherman to the shores of this muddy lake. Considering that it is common that no one in Hungary speaks a foreign language, we were unfortunately unable to speak with the locals about whether they fear an outbreak of the avian flu. However, their conduct –feeding the swans and being in direct contact with them – suggested that despite the media hype in that country, no one has any fear of the possibility of contracting the bird flu. In our attempt to investigation whether the local population is on the right track, or whether there is a fear of infection, we decided to speak with Hungarian ornithologists who marked the bird which later died near Orahovica.
The Hungarian Centre for Bird Monitoring is situated in the northern part of Budapest, in the building of the Hungarian Ministry of the Environment and Water.
“We believe that there is no reason for the panic caused by the media concerning the spread of the avian flu. It is true that the swan found near Orahovica was ringed near Balaton Lake, but it is also a fact that for the time being, there has not been a single confirmed case of infection of birds or poultry with the H5N1 virus in Hungary,” Zsolt Karcza, Director of the Bird Monitoring Centre commented for Nacional’s reporter. The Hungarian Bird Monitoring Centre is a non-governmental organization which falls under the international organization MME, which works to protect wild birds and preserve biological diversity.
The wave of discomfort among the Hungarian public was caused by the recent discovery of 18 dead pigeons on the banks of the Tisa River, near the border of Hungary, Romania and Serbia, and so the “Hungarian-Orahovica” swan, at least according to the claims of the Hungarian media, aroused additional panic among the Hungarian population. The first pathological findings of the dead pigeons showed that the cause of death was not the bird flu, however, their deaths have not yet been officially explained.
“It seems to us as though the media is exaggerating in spreading fear of some great pandemic of the bird flu. The hygienic conditions of Vietnam and Croatia, for example, cannot be compared, and so the changes that the avian flu in Europe will pass from bird to man are very small. Even in that were to be the case, that particular person would have to already be infected with the ‘ordinary’ human virus, and only a combination of those viruses create the pandemic virus which can then be dangerous. For now it is difficult to tell just how many deaths such a virus could cause, for it is not yet present, and to speculate would only be irresponsible. It is true that the Spanish flu, which caused a true death wave among the European population in the 1930s, was also originally an avian virus, however since then hygienic conditions and medical care have developed extensively, and it is certain that such a virus today would be much easier to localize and put under control,” explained Gergo Halmos, Director of the Conservation Department of the Bird Monitoring Centre.

“Currently there are no cases of bird flu in Hungary, though this would be no surprise seeing that in terms of geography, Lake Balaton and the Orahovica area are the same region. As scientists and ornithologists, we do not differentiate these two areas, which are more closely related than, for example, Slavonia and Dalmatia,” commented Gergo Halmos.
The swan found at Orahovica was ringed at Lake Balaton, near the town of Balatonfured on 9 September of this year, and was found dead on 25 October from the avian flu. These experts were not certain how the bird became infected with the bird flu, but they agree that this happened in Croatia.
“After we ringed the swan on 9 September, we saw the same swan once again exactly two weeks later a short distance away from where it was ringed. The only information on the swan after this point was that it was found dead near Orahovica. It is certain that it could only have become infected in Croatia. Proof of this is that a second swan which was ringed at the same time was found in perfect health on 22 October, north of Balaton,” said Karcza.
His comment was confirmed by Peter Szinai, the ornithologist who ringed the bird. “At the time I ringed it, I did not notice any symptoms of avian flu, whatsoever, and there were no symptoms when I observed it again, two weeks later. None of the birds that I ringed in that time period showed any symptoms of illness,” commented Szinai in a telephone conversation.
The incubation of avian flu is very short and ranges from one to three days, though there are very rare cases in which the incubation period is up to three weeks. “It is difficult to say how the virus came to Croatia. I can say with certainty that it did not come from southeast Asia, for there are no bird migrations from there to Europe – not due to the distance, but because this is simply not an ordinary migration route for birds.
It is likely that these birds came from northern or northwestern Asia, however, this is simple speculation. It is possible that the virus was imported, for large numbers of birds, both poultry and house pets, are imported from Asia and, considering that the laws and hygiene conditions there differ greatly from those in Europe, it is possible that the virus arrived in Croatia in that way. However, I have to stress that the H5N1 virus is not a ‘new’ virus. We’ve known of its existence in birds and poultry since the 1950s. At the end of that decade, the virus was found in poultry in England, and then in Scotland, which is documented. The virus was first found in China and southeast Asia much later.
The H5N1 virus is present throughout the world, as are its subtypes, one of which was the cause of the large poultry massacre in Holland several years ago. Considering its long presence, we do not believe that these newest events are particularly concerning. It is possible that large numbers of birds will have to be killed, however, this must be done regardless of the damage to the poultry industry. Hygiene conditions in Croatia are much better than they are in Asia, where many people live in direct contact with animals, such that your country need not fear a pandemic,” explained Halmos.
Tourism and the food industry, two important branches of the Hungarian economy, have been hit hard by the newest events relating to the avian flu. “The damage is already done, but not due to the virus itself, but primarily due to the media. Though there is no real danger of infection, the sale of poultry has dropped 30% in a short time, and our tourism has been endangered. The majority of people do not want to visit an area they believe to be contaminated with a virus,” stressed Karcza.