Re: The Coming Pandemic


Jill. wrote:
> sbffalo@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> > chris p wrote:
> >> get a couple of cats.
> >> "Tightwad" <Tightwad@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> >> news:v%e5f.18838$1X5.4003@xxxxxxxxxxx
> >>> Itt seems the Bird Flue is growing expotentially and will arrive
> >>> here shortly by migrating wild species.
> >>> What are folks going to do to keep, presumably all wild birds, of
> >>> any kind, out of contact with feed, fowl, or the ground they
> >>> normally utilize?
> >
> > Hi, Chris!
> >> From what I've gathered so far, all birds will need to be brought
> > indoors and all contact with cats, other birds, mice, rats, dogs, etc.
> > and their droppings, be eliminated.
>
> Why all of those?
> None of them can carry the virus. Migratory waterfowl certainly do
> The recommendations here [so far] will be to pen the animals behind netting
> so that they cannot interact with the wild bird population as Nuele and
> xiriux has described in the past in Holland and Germany
> Jill

Hi, Jill!
I suspect for the same reason that we need to be disinfecting our
boots. Birds do it wherever they happen to be and most animals are not
too careful where they walk.
I am surprised that netting is all that is recommended since this is a
virus that we are concerned about. We all know how easy it is for us
to catch a cold or the common flu. It just seems to hang in the air
waiting for us. And what is to keep the wild birds from "dropping"
something into the nets?
Jill, I'm not sure why you think we in the U.S. will be immune to this
virus. Our birds co-mingle with birds from Russia and other northern
areas during their northern migration. There are also birds that find
themselves out of their normal range for various reasons (illness?)
along the coasts. So it's reasonable to expect the virus to come here.
What am I missing in this equation? Our officials are quite somber
about the possibilities. They are taking this more seriously than Y2K.
Originally it was thought that infected birds would die before flying
very far, but that is not now the case.
As far as whether this particular virus will be the feared pandemic may
not be the true question. There are many viruses that could fill that
bill eventually. The thing with the present Asian Bird Flu is its
present virulence and that the more birds it infects, the more people
it comes in contact with and the more opportunity it has to mutate into
a human influenza. It is quite possible that in doing so it loses its
virulence, but just as possible that it won't. Prudence dictates that
we weigh the costs involved in ignoring both possibilities.
I'm still not ready to give up eggs or Pilgrim geese (who are laying
again!
I am also not ready to give up family members or friends and neighbors.

Kathleen
Straw Barry Fields Farm
Beefalo
Kentucky, USA

.

Relevant Pages

  • Expect H5N1 virus in North America soon: UN-Updated
    ... The dangerous H5N1 form of the bird flu virus could reach North America ... Dr. David Nabarro said Wednesday that wild birds will likely carry the ... The virus has previously been detected in cats, tigers and leopards, ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: cats & current bird flu recommendations
    ... NEW YORK -- Researchers think some people who let their cats roam free ... or wild birds. ... the virus, and experiments have shown they can give it to other cats. ... The researchers recommended that cats be kept away from infected birds ...
    (rec.pets.cats.anecdotes)
  • Re: The Coming Pandemic
    ... There were birds in quarentine. ... and the ducks come ... Young guineas are in a covered run attached to their night ... Jill Bowis ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)
  • Re: How is the bird flu effecting the small chicken producer
    ... > going on with my birds, ... > on a bad peck wound on a bird after the stupid antibacterial ointment ... Its a REALLY virulent strain and the one that is closest to crossing to ... Jill Bowis ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)
  • Re: The Coming Pandemic
    ... > Jill. ... >> None of them can carry the virus. ... Birds do it wherever they happen to be and most animals are ... infected birds have been culled and buried within 72 hours. ...
    (sci.agriculture.poultry)