Report: Bird flu poses threat to humans

Report: Bird flu posesthreat to humans
WASHINGTON -- A type of bird flu that has killed millions of chickens is becoming more infectious to mammals. Scientists fear it could cause the next worldwide pandemic in humans.
The avian flu has forced authorities to slaughter millions of chickens and other fowl in Asia to stem outbreaks in recent years. Thousands more have been killed in the United States and elsewhere.
Already the flu has passed from birds to humans in Hong Kong, killing six of 18 people infected in 1997, and human cases have been reported since then in Vietnam and Thailand.
Now China-based researchers studying the H5N1 strain of the flu report that it has been changing over the years to become more dangerous to mammals. Their research, based on tests in mice, is reported in Monday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Our results demonstrate that while circulating in domestic ducks, H5N1 viruses gradually acquired the characteristics that make them lethal in mice," reported the team led by Hualan Chen of the Animal Influenza Laboratory of the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.
Mountain lion involvedin attack was emaciated
LOS ANGELES -- A mountain lion that attacked a hiker on a clifftop trail in central California over the weekend did not have rabies but was well below its average weight, wildlife officials said Monday.
The 2-year-old male lion weighed 58 pounds, while most cougars its age weigh 80 to 100 pounds, said Lorna Bernard, spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game. The emaciated lion injured a Santa Monica woman Saturday before it was fought off by her boyfriend and later killed by wildlife officers.
A necropsy Monday determined that the animal didn't have rabies and that its stomach was empty except for the bone of a rodent, Bernard said. Other examinations to determine whether the animal was sick could take another week, but state officials said they may never learn why the lion attacked.
"Even if they explain the mystery why it was thin, it won't explain the mystery of why the lion wanted to attack a human," Bernard said.
Inca city endangered
LIMA, Peru -- A century after American explorer Hiram Bingham hacked through jungle-shrouded mountains to reach the overgrown ruins of Machu Picchu, heavy tourism and nearby sprawl have endangered the "Lost City of the Incas."
That's the finding of U.N. evaluators, who recommended that the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization place Machu Picchu on its endangered list.
The recommendation by the International Council on Monuments and Sites, was confirmed Monday by Peru's National Institute of Culture.
During an October visit to Peru, UNESCO's heritage chief Francesco Bandarin warned that with some 1,000 tourists visiting Machu Picchu each day, the heavy traffic could severely damage the magnificent stone structure.
Mistake kills wild horses
RENO, Nev. -- Seven wild horses died in remote northeast Nevada after a mistake by a federal worker trapped them in an enclosure without water, the Bureau of Land Management said Monday.
BLM officials said the worker, who was not identified, failed to install proper gates. He was referred to a supervisor for "appropriate action." "It was an honest mistake and a tragic mistake," said BLM spokesman Chris Hanefeld.
Wild-horse advocacy groups were notified after the dead animals were discovered.
"A lot of this mistake stuff you have to wonder about sometimes," said Bobbi Royle, president of Wild Horse Spirit based in Reno. "They don't care a flip about the horses."
Saturn's days get longer
PASADENA, Calif. -- Scientists who figured they knew how long a day lasted on Saturn are having second thoughts.
The Cassini spacecraft has been listening to natural radio signals from Saturn, the most reliable method of determining a day's length. Cassini's transmissions show a complete rotation takes 10 hours, 45 minutes and 45 seconds, plus or minus 36 seconds, NASA said in a statement Monday.
That's about six minutes longer than measurements performed by the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft that flew by Saturn in 1980 and 1981. Observations made in France in 1997 also differed from the Voyager findings.
Cassini, due to enter Saturn's orbit Wednesday night, gathered radio data from April 29, 2003, to June 10, 2004.
"We all agree that the radio rotation period of Saturn is longer today than it was during the Voyager flyby in 1980," said Michael D. Desch, a member of the Cassini team and a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Associated Press