Bird Flu Update.

[hedgewizard]

Yeah, the media don't understand that bird flu can't be spread from human to human. So far as I can make out eggs are safe, although DEFRA will not doubt reiterate its advice about cooking them "properly" i.e. until rubbery. Whoops MMM - I thought you said conflicting information on bird flu EGGS. Pardon my earsight.

Evidence suggests that you can only catch bird flu from DIRECT CONTACT with infected bird - which probably means inhaling dander or powered poo. This is going to make cleaning the chook house fun, hence all the close netting - just stop them getting the virus in the first place!

[Millymollymandy]

Ina - your link has just taken me to an advert for a Mercedes!!! (bl**dy germans.....)

I can't find anything by Googling in French about these turkeys. All I get is a second dead duck found in Ain - now I know this area, it is where I used to go birdwatching regularly as it is an area absolutely full of lakes ...... and ducks. I wonder who is finding dead ducks and reporting them? It just doesn't sound very French to me!

Aha, in the time I typed this the Merc has disappeared and the turkey story appeared.

[hedgewizard]

No, finding a dead duck and taking it home for the pot is altogether more French

[Shirley]

http://www.economist.com/science/displa ... id=5545392

Animal disease

The aves, and ave nots
Feb 23rd 2006
From The Economist print edition

Avian influenza is spreading to many new countries. But migrating wild birds may not be the only culprits

IN AROUND a month, bird flu has appeared in a seemingly alarming number of new countries. The disease is already endemic in the poultry flocks of much of Asia. In the face of the relentless march of the H5N1 virus around the world, fatalism is not an appropriate response. Better to look at exactly what is going on.

The arrival of bird flu in Europe and its neighbourhood has caused most of the flap, yet the cases in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Iran, Austria, Germany, France, Hungary and Croatia are only in wild birds. In Nigeria, Egypt and India, the virus has been discovered to be widely distributed across poultry flocks.


While the presence of the virus in any form is a concern, Nigeria, Egypt and India face bigger problems coping with dense farmed avian populations, and they are less well equipped to deal with them. More significantly, it is increasingly apparent that the real and most immediate issue is to what extent wild birds, or humans themselves, are responsible for the infection's spread in poultry.

A research paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published online on February 10th, shows that the H5N1 virus has persisted in its birthplace, southern China, for almost ten years and has been introduced into Vietnam on at least three occasions, and to Indonesia. The authors suggest that such transmissions are perpetuated mainly by the movement of poultry and poultry products, rather than by migrating birds.

This is significant because it strongly supports bird conservationists, who have been arguing that most outbreaks in South-East Asia can be linked to movements of poultry and poultry products, or infected material from poultry farms, such as mud on vehicles or people's shoes. Conservationists also argue that live animal markets have played an important role in the H5N1's spread. Such markets were the source of the first known outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997 when 20% of the chickens in live poultry markets were infected.

BirdLife International, a conservation group, reckons there are three likely transmission routes for H5N1: commercial trade and the movement of poultry; trade in wild birds; and the use of infected poultry manure as agricultural fertiliser. Bird conservationists add that although migratory birds can carry and transmit the virus, it is often not clear whether they picked up the infection from poultry.

In Nigeria, there is the suggestion that it was trade, and not migratory birds, that caused the outbreak. For one thing, the infection was first detected in a commercial farm with 46,000 poultry and not among backyard flocks which represent 60% of the country's poultry productionâ€â€

[Millymollymandy]

My hens are now confined to a tiny run outside their shed which has a tarpaulin roof. I haven't done any bird proof type netting (yet) - I really don't know if I will bother because whether this will pass muster or not I don't know, given that I have a shed I could shut them in anyway. It is more to get them used to being confined, plus the tarp will be a good shading for the shed against the sun (it is south facing ) when/if I do have to shut them in.

So far there is nothing from our Mairie (town hall) telling us what to do with our poultry, not even on their noticeboard inside!! Of course the locals still have theirs running around loose - I do wonder whether it is only the big businesses and the British who have shut theirs away!

[Jessica]

Hi Cat found with bird flu in germay in an infected area where birds were found with the flu. so they say in infected areas cats just be kept in.
Poor cats

jessie

[digger]

I presume you've all heard that H5N1 has been found in 2 tufted ducks in Sweden.

[Millymollymandy]

No, but I thought I heard this morning there was an outbreak in Switzerland. Perhaps they said Sweden!

[LSP]

I found a disturbing report in the Singapore Straits Times about plans (rumours?) to restock post-flu chicken farms with GM chickens. I wonder if anyone has seen or read similar reports. I've reproduced the report (with a few comments) in

http://organically.blogspot.com/2006/03 ... d-flu.html

because Straits Times Interactive are only for subscribers.

Note the last sentence in this report. Enough to send a chill down my spine.

[Libby]

I wondered how long it would take before they forced gm on us instead of just sneaking it in!
I eat no gm so I could be starved out.
And there was me worrying the fags might get me

[Magpie]

The view from here... http://www.lifestyleblock.co.nz/forum/t ... C_ID=16571

[Goodlife1970]

Thats a scary thought. Am I alone in thinking that "The Powers That Be" are throwing obstacles in the way of the population being SSish? Are there too many of us trying to get away from "normal society" and make a go of things ourselves? Or is that just my paranoia/hormones kicking in?

[Shirley]

Thats a scary thought. Am I alone in thinking that "The Powers That Be" are throwing obstacles in the way of the population being SSish? Are there too many of us trying to get away from "normal society" and make a go of things ourselves? Or is that just my paranoia/hormones kicking in?

You could have a good point there !! The more SSish we are, the less money we spend :D

[hedgewizard]

Nah. They want to blame someone to deflect attention from the fact that they aren't taking on big business to do what needs to be done, that's all.

[Libby]

I think you,re probably right hedgewizard.
I watched a report on the news this morning about fining telecommunication companies who send out silent phone calls. This happens because the calls are computer generated and there isn,t usually enough staff to deal with speaking to you.
Guess who one of the main objectors to ofcom implementing the fines is?
Who else but BT, who make the most money from it!