A rare virus that can be contracted by humans has killed a large number of Victorian pigeons after being detected in the Australian state for the first time, Agriculture Department confirmed on Tuesday. According to the Australian Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Mark Schipp, the avian paramyxo virus has already started killing some hobby birds, and threatens to spread to Victoria's chicken population. He said the affected birds have died suddenly in large numbers and have sometimes appeared tired or have shown neurological signs such as circling or head flicking before death. He added that the bug can also cause conjunctivitis or influenza-like symptoms in humans. "The virus causes only mild, short-term conjunctivitis or influenza-like symptoms (in humans)," Australia Associated Press quoted Schipp as reporting on Tuesday. "Human infection with this virus is extremely rare and usually occurs only in people who have close direct contact with infected birds." At this stage, there are no reports of the virus causing disease in wild birds, but the Australian Wildlife Health Network has been asked to monitor the situation, Xinhua reported.
