The infection of eight crows in Kyoto and Osaka prefectures with avian flu has raised concerns that wild birds that get near people may become potential vehicles for the virus.

While the central and local governments are conducting research on wild birds to learn the routes of infection, however, some experts say it is unlikely that bird flu is spreading among crows.

The infected crows found in Kyoto and Osaka are believed to have eaten the flesh of dead chickens at two flu-hit poultry farms in Kyoto Prefecture or consumed the droppings of infected chickens, said Masae Narusue, a researcher at the Wild Bird Society of Japan.