large parts of the map of different flu viruses haven't been properly identified

According to an expert on the bird flu virus the world scientific community is not doing enough to monitor and evaluate the deadly virus in different parts of the world. Professor Boyce who works at the University of California in the Centre for Rapid Influenza Surveillance and Research recently explained that it is essential that bird flu viruses are tracked and identified to see if they could become potential worldwide pandemic viruses.

He claims that the present strategies for surveillance of wild birds suffering from the H5N1 bird flu virus are scattered and not complete. As a result it is possible that large parts of the complete map of different bird flu viruses around the world and their subtypes have not been properly identified and researched.

Professor Walter Boyce who works on tracking bird flu viruses in Asia and America wrote a recent paper for the scientific journal Nature entitled "Vigilance is not enough". He went on to note that the surveillance of wild birds has been done mainly in America and in Europe where the problem of infected wild birds is minimal. He said that more money and resources should be driven towards monitoring the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Asia and in Africa where most of the problems occurred.

He said that he was also aware that researchers were sometimes concerned about sharing information they discovered about bird flu viruses because of their claims to intellectual property rights. This meant that they were reluctant to share bird flu samples and this could slow down the chances of discovering a definite cure for the virus.

Professor Boyce appealed to the scientific community to set a standard by where data regarding bird flu viruses would be released at most 45 days after being discovered.