Tracking the next pandemic: Avian Flu Talk |
U.S.A will not cull birds with H5N1 |
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Posted: March 08 2006 at 7:56am |
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With avian flu spreading, U.S. to expand its testing
By Anita Manning, USA TODAY
The U.S. government, bracing for the possibility that migrating birds could carry a deadly strain of bird flu to North America, plans to test nearly eight times as many wild birds this year as have been tested in the past decade.
Starting in April, samples from 75,000 to 100,000 birds will be tested for the virus, mainly in Alaska, as part of a joint effort of the departments of Agriculture and Interior, along with state Fish & Wildlife agencies. That's a jump from the 12,000 birds tested since 1996, the USDA's Angela Harless says. (Related item: Graphic: Migratory path of birds) The expanded program, which will include birds in the Pacific islands and on the West Coast, reflects growing concern that the virus, highly pathogenic A (H5N1), which has spread across Asia and Europe, could arrive in North America as soon as this spring and be carried into the western continental USA by fall. "I would expect" the virus to arrive in North America, USDA Secretary Mike Johanns says. It could enter in other ways, he says, including smuggling of infected pet birds or fighting cocks, but the chance that it could be carried in with the spring migration "is definitely a possibility." A disease of birds, not humans If tests find the virus in birds in North America, it would not signal the start of a human pandemic, because it still primarily is a disease of birds, he says. The virus was first found in birds in China in 1996. It moved into people for the first time in Hong Kong a year later and now has turned up in 39 countries. Since December 2003, at least 175 people have been infected, and 95 have died, most of them after having close contact with infected chickens but not wild birds. Scientists say the virus hasn't developed the ability to spread easily from person to person. If that happens, it could start a pandemic. Of four major bird migratory patterns, or flyways, in North America — the Pacific, Central, Mississippi and Atlantic — the Pacific flyway is of greatest interest now, says Frank Quimby of the U.S. Department of the Interior. "The Pacific flyway is the most likely route, because birds that winter in Asia migrate in spring to Alaska." Alaska, with its wetlands and coastal areas, is a kind of Grand Central Station for bird species. "Alaska is the crossroad of bird migration pathways," says Rick Kearney, wildlife program coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey. "With the coming of the spring migration season, we are increasing surveillance" in partnership with federal, state and local agencies. "We shall be collecting samples from live migratory birds and samples from hunters." Birds on the Asian flyway could arrive in Alaska in April and May, says Nicholas Throckmorton of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. "That could be the moment when wild birds bring Asian bird flu to Alaska. As those birds spend the summer breeding in Alaska, they could pass it to birds that migrate south in the fall," he says. He added that if the virus arrives in Alaska, the agency doesn't expect it to move south until sometime between August and November. To test the birds, scientists capture them in nets, take swabs from the throat or cloaca (posterior opening) and send the samples to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Center in Madison, Wis. If any test positive for H5N1, confirmatory testing will be done at the USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. USDA spokeswoman Angela Harless says as many as 18,000 samples a day can be tested. Tests also will be made on birds killed by hunters in Alaska this spring, and in Oregon, Washington and California during the fall, Throckmorton says. To bird experts, avian flu is nothing new. There are at least 144 types of bird flu viruses, most of which don't kill the birds. Only two types, H7 and H5, have become highly pathogenic, killing three out of five chickens infected, Throckmorton says. In Asia, the H5N1 virus "went from wild birds to domestic poultry, evolved in poultry and reinfected wild birds," he says. Now more lethal than it was, it kills some wild birds, but not all. "It's proven wild birds can carry this virus and not have illness." What if it is found in the USA?
If the virus is detected in wild birds in North America, there will be no massive killing of them to contain it, because experts, including those from the World Health Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the USDA, agree that destroying birds is not an effective control method. What would happen, Kearney says, is health experts and people involved in agriculture would be put on alert and warned to make sure poultry are separated from wild birds. Some scientists say the focus on wild birds is misplaced. "Migratory birds are probably the least likely way avian flu is going to enter the Western hemisphere," says Peter Marra, a bird ecologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The more likely route into the USA, he says, is through the pet trade and the movement of poultry, legally or illegally. "Migratory birds are innocent bystanders," Marra says. "I don't doubt (they're) moving the virus. I just don't think they're the primary movers." Poultry industry on guard The USDA has banned importation of live birds or bird products from countries where the virus has spread. Birds that are legally brought into the country are tested for H5N1 and other bugs, and they're held in quarantine for 30 days. But experts warn that illegal trade in birds and the smuggling of wild birds or fighting cocks could provide an entry. Richard Lobb of the National Chicken Council says poultry farmers have been warned that "if you have hired help, make sure they don't have fighting birds at home. That is the only way it would get into commercial poultry." If it spread into domestic poultry, it could threaten the USA's $43-billion-a-year broiler industry, but Lobb says there are precautions in place, from routine testing of every flock to extensive farm bio-security measures. An outbreak on a farm would be quickly detected, contained and extinguished, he says. "We're not complacent by any means," he says. "It is the No. 1 issue in the industry |
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daddog36
V.I.P. Member Joined: February 23 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 119 |
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Wow,does that mean by not culling they have given up on controling the spread.
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daddog36
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daddog36
V.I.P. Member Joined: February 23 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 119 |
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Muskrat does this mean they are now looking to contol H2H clusters and are moveing away from trying to stop the spread in birds? If this is so this is a major development.
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daddog36
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To me sounds like they know that migratory birds will have it and they are going to put all there flocks into closed area,s to keep them away from infected birds..and they are not going to cull the migratory birds... but on one hand we have an expert that says migratory birds will not carry the disease and on the other hand we have 10 more saying yes they will...all very confusing to many cooks can spoil the brooth and they have to many experts disagreeing... I am waiting for my final analysis when the WHO meeting is done and they release all the information from this meeting on March 15th...why it will take so long meeting is over tomorrow... Maybe they want to get themselves repared and the governments before releasing the bad news... |
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daddog36
V.I.P. Member Joined: February 23 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 119 |
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Muskrat do you see the WHO level going to 4 or 5 on the 15th of March?Good articles muskrat. |
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daddog36
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Gwyphn
Valued Member Joined: February 10 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 92 |
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Wicked scary info! Leave it to bureaucracy. So, when the bird flu is here we will be unprepared, just great.
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For generations we have lived not wisely but too well. Now we must pay.
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I see them meeting to make some very tough decisions..if this were not such a threat then why the WHO and 30 top virologists in a sealed room for 3 days....think about it... They will be coming out with some very distirbing news to say the least and how they plan to deal with the virus and they will have a few days to meet or speak to all the world leaders on what to do..for quarintens,medical supplies,economy...all the things |
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Oh and add to that the subtle hints of 2 mutations away and the yesterday one mutation away..it is like a count down to pandemic day...
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araywood
Adviser Group Joined: March 04 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 206 |
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I just drove through the florida turnpike plaza and the attendent was wearing a nusiance mask.??????
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I love animals and it seems that the culling hasn't really stopped the spread, so why bother???? Once it gets to Canada and America, it's pretty much global and beyond control. That would be my guess as to why the US has made this decision. Muskrat, my spirit is in the same place - one mutation and 90% probability pretty much screams 'brace yourself'. I have pet supplies to restock and I'll be doing that in the next 2-3 days. Mentally prep to be locked inside for a year. |
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daddog36
V.I.P. Member Joined: February 23 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 119 |
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For a year. If it lasts that long not tobe negative were screwed. Im hopeing for 2 months when it hits.
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daddog36
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Some key bird flu developments around the world Monday: _ U.S. health officials announce plans for a second bird flu vaccine because the virus spreading among birds in Asia, Africa and Europe is changing. _ The World Health Organization said the H5N1 strain of bird flu, feared as the source of a possible human flu pandemic, is unprecedented in scope as an animal disease. _ Three cats test positive for the deadly flu strain in Austria's first reported case of the disease spreading to an animal other than a bird. _ Poland confirms its first outbreak of the lethal strain, in two wild swans. _ A top animal health official with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says developed countries have responded too slowly to bird flu. _ Russia says some 500,000 domestic and wild birds in southern regions have died since Feb. 5, and 350,000 more have been killed by authorities to stem the disease. _ Four wild ducks in southern Sweden test positive for a strain of bird flu, but it is not immediately clear whether it was the deadly H5N1 strain. _ Serbia says a dead swan found near the border with Bosnia tested positive for bird flu. More tests are needed to determine if it was the deadly strain. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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daddog36 - lots of info here on this site - you should be able to find some posting on the expected 3 waves of the pandemic. We may have a break, but who knows if we'll have stocked shelves of food at that time. It's best to try to stock for a years supply - bulk rice and beans are inexpensive and can get you through many meals....
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sweets
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If it spread into domestic poultry, it could threaten the USA's $43-billion-a-year broiler industry, but Lobb says there are precautions in place, from routine testing of every flock to extensive farm bio-security measures. An outbreak on a farm would be quickly detected, contained and extinguished, he says. They won't cull because they don't want to lose the money! |
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I'm not a ribbering Jidiot!
www.exaltedshrimp.com |
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calendula
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MADRID, March 8 (Reuters) - Health takes priority over international trade agreements and intellectual property as the world tries to fight the threat of bird flu, the head of the World Trade Organisation said on Wednesday. "To the question of whether a WTO member can put up obstacles to trade as a consequence of a threat to public health, the answer is yes," WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told a business meeting in Madrid. "Each member has room to move if there is a threat. It is not unlimited (room) under the system, but health trumps trade if necessary," he said. Earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) urged people to take action to prepare for a widespread outbreak of bird flu, to develop vaccines, stockpile medicines and educate people. Lamy said that in terms of producing medicines and antivirals, a public health emergency would trump intellectual property rules set by the WTO. He did not give details of what rules could be lifted. In the past, the WTO has allowed members to waive patents on medicines to battle specific health challenges. |
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I am not here to reason, I am here to create"
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elbows
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There is nothing new in this story about not culling.
Its just the same as anywhere else. Wild birds arent culled. The article just says that this will be the case in the USA too. Nothing different, not a change of policy. It is specifically refering to wild birds, its poultry that has been culled elsewhere, and will be in the USA too if H5N1 is detected in poultry. This article doesnt say that they wont cull poultry. |
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flowerchild
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Does anyone remember- I saw this last week I think- that a law is being passed so two states don't have to report outbreaks in their poultry farms? I believe one state was Maryland. I have been reading so much that I can't remember where I saw it at.
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loosecannon
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It's funny you should mention that. I was reading this thread and trying to think where I read that same article. I live in Maryland, and I can tell you I haven't heard a single peep in the local news about that, but I know I read it somewhere too. Leave it to the Md. politicians.. they are more concerned about "image" and not hurting business then they are about keeping the public safe. IMHO
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I think I am going to buy a freezer, and fill it up with all my tasty animal friends.
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I have a freezer and it is filled to the brim with all my tasty preps..(even candy canes) 120 of them |
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corky52
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Chocolate Easter Bunnies!!!!!
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Yes I will be watching our for those to go on sale..or I go to the blue ticket shelf(Zellers) and buy the broken ones they can be melted down and I have bags of marshmellows..mmmm...I can make smores...we will never starve then
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virusil
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dont eat chiken i repeat,
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ignorance.
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Cull, not cull. Eat fowl or not eat fowl..Right now I think it is a mute point to try to control this by the killing of birds. we are trying to find something so small you need a special microscope to see it. And we have the whole globe to look. Stop looking, because as a theif in the night it will make itself knwon. Its like a tornado..conditions must be right for them to form...and given time they always form..If we a vigilant in our preps and prayers we will survive. We will see times that ten years ago we would not have dreamed of. I do not mean to sound all doom and gloom here....It just seems that we are, as humans always seeking ways to conquer. I am afraid this is not something we can just "seek and destroy" Lets get prepared for our survival, and when we have prped for a seige...then seek and destroy. I hope I have not rambled to much and I hope some of you will understand what I am trying to say. Not very good at getting thoughts on paper. Get lost between brain and hand
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