More bad news!

[jules]

The government have now confirmed yet another outbreak of bird flu.
Please be careful, anyone out there that finds any sick or injured birds. (UK only).

1. Do not move any bird.
2. Do not touch it.
3. Report the sick bird to the RSPB or RSPCA.

This is very sad news! For further info:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1292584,00.html

[Mars]

This may be of interest. The material is about a year old now but the bottom line is the same.

http://www.thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2938

:)

[jules]

Thats excellent info Mars.:thumbsup
I didn't notice it before, but can I just stress to our UK members that this particular case has been diagnosed as the H5N1 virus, so care needs to be taken when around any sick bird that may be found!

:thankyou Mars!:bowdown

Jules. :Love_Icon

[Abi]

message recieved and understood.. :thumbsup

[TexanSquirrel]

We're all going to die horrible deaths now. :sanp3 And for once, it's not even our fault.

Just the other day I was getting all worked up about people creating resistent bacteria because they are either lazy, stupid or ignorant. At least now I don't have to worry about incurable TB.

[Abi]

They're now saying there could be a Christmas turkey crisis..........

:rotfl

I find turkey rather bland and dry personally... I hate cranberries (tried too many times to know...) and come the festive season, I usually enjoy a nice free range duck in orange sauce... it's enough for us and I save the fat for making fatballs... (and you're wondering why I'm popular?? now you know!! They're all waiting for boxing day and every day after that up to new year!!! :D)

Be thankful America that you don't have this problem... but it's what happens when you have too many birds confined with little room and the air is recycled... be sure your bird won't have breathed in anything good before it's got to your table.... makes me sick that we in the UK intensley farm animals in such apparent p*** poor conditions... especially when there has been press in one such 'plant' of workers playing football with a live turkey....

I've given up eating meat... :soapbox

And I'll remain vegetarian until such time that these cruel and evil factory farms are all outlawed.....

[TexanSquirrel]

Who cares about a turkey shortage - we might be seeing a people shortage around here pretty soon! :osnap :osnap :osnap

[fotheloveofsquirrels]

What in the world. Huh! People shortage? I missed something. What are you talking about TS?

[hazel]

She's talking about the H5N1 virus. Avian flu.
:Love_Icon to the UK. It will be here soon enough.

An avian flu pandemic would definately cause a people shortage. The mortality estimates are laughably low.

And yes, TxS it is absolutely our fault. I'll gather some info and come back with it.

Abi, :thankyou for not eating animals. :)

[hazel]

Here, TxS, thought you might appreciate an article from The Journal of the American Medical Association. It's a book review, but it contains a nice synopsis of the facts....that WE are responsible for the conditions that created this problem.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/298/16/1945


BTW, for anyone interested in learning more, the book reviewed in the link above is available to read in it's entirety at the HSUS site

http://birdflubook.com/g.php?id=5

It's an interesting read - not dry and technical. :thumbsup


The CDC also has a great deal of info available on avian flu.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/

[TexanSquirrel]

I can't read your article now, but I will soon....

You know the last flu epidemic killed 22 million people? Imagine how many the next one will kill...

[fotheloveofsquirrels]

Here, TxS, thought you might appreciate an article from The Journal of the American Medical Association. It's a book review, but it contains a nice synopsis of the facts....that WE are responsible for the conditions that created this problem.

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/298/16/1945


BTW, for anyone interested in learning more, the book reviewed in the link above is available to read in it's entirety at the HSUS site

http://birdflubook.com/g.php?id=5

It's an interesting read - not dry and technical. :thumbsup


The CDC also has a great deal of info available on avian flu.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/ I am just sick! I just see so much that is about to hit the fan with all of this disease and distruction of our planet, that I just feel such helplessness and frustration. From my lips to GOD'S ears. I hope we find a way to get it all under control.

[TexanSquirrel]

Finally read your article. I didn't even consider that the way we raise livestock/etc would create a new plague. I was thinking about how people can't seem to take their antibiotics right and just ruin it for the rest of us...

[jules]

Sadly, we have had our second case of Avian flu reported!:shakehead


http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20071119/thl-health-flu-britain-389ddcb.html

A lot of people will not be having their traditional christmas dinners this year!

[Beene]

In connection to this I thought this was a very interesting article to read..
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20071120/thl-health-flu-indonesia-vaccine-8ca61fc_1.html

[Crazymunk]

Sadly, we have had our second case of Avian flu reported!:shakehead


http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20071119/thl-health-flu-britain-389ddcb.html

A lot of people will not be having their traditional christmas dinners this year!



We live in Norfolk and we have chickens........Diss is not that far from us! :sanp3

[jules]

We live in Norfolk and we have chickens........Diss is not that far from us! :sanp3

Im sorry to hear that!
I hope that your chickens don't get it. Have you got them under cover? That seems to be the only preventative action to take at the moment!

All the best!:thumbsup

Jules. :Love_Icon

[TexanSquirrel]

That Indonesia article really made me mad. This is a problem that affects the entire world and they're being petty over it. I think that the Western countries should pay the value of the bird for the bird. If their country is being hit worst by it then you'd think they would be the ones cooperating the most for the production of a vaccine. :soapbox

[hazel]

Indonesia is using the only leverage they have in hopes of being supplied with avian flu vaccine. I can't blame them for it!

I've been wanting to mention that the enormous effort toward development of an avian flu vaccine may not be worth the trouble...the avian flu that is capable of moving easily from person to person doesn't exist yet. Good luck with that! Then you have to consider that it takes many months to develop, manufacture and distribute a new vaccine.

As of today 355 people have been infected with H5N1 and 206 of them have died, even though they were given top notch medical care. If this flu became pandemic, the death toll would be much higher than generally reported. There aren't enough respirators on the planet, not to mention hospital beds!

More later...I have to unpack groceries. :dono

[hazel]

Here is the link to the prioritization of distrubution of H5N1 vaccine (scroll down to table 1)

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/vaccine/prioritization.html

The governemnt gets vaccinated first. No surprise there. Then the military, emergency management and health care workers. Citizens are at the bottom of the list and that's where things get really interesting, not only because they comprise the largest group but because at the bottom of that list are healthy people 19 to 64 years old. Infants, children and those 65 and over and the sick will be vaccinated before the healthy 19 to 64 year old group. That's messed up and here's why.

The H5N1 virus doesn't kill. What causes death is the extreme overreaction of a healthy body's immune system to the presence of the virus. In other words, healthy young adults with strong, healthy immune systems are the ones who get the sickest and have the highest mortality. As the system is set up now, they will be among the very last to be vaccinated. :thinking

It is not known at this point how many species of animals can contract H5N1. Birds, cats and dogs can get it. It is believed that all carnivores are at risk. But the virus can be contracted in ways other than by eating those who are infected. The live virus is present in bird droppings and virtually every living thing has contact with bird droppings. So far, the majority of infected people have had direct contact with sick birds.

The H5N1 virus is mutating rapidly. Whether or not it gains the ability to spread easily from person to person is the question on which life as we know it depends.

The following link contains information on what you can do to prepare for a pandemic.

http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/individual/index.html

[jules]

Thanks for the info Hazel!:thumbsup

It's always good to know about these things!

Jules. :Love_Icon

[hazel]

Plans to order enough vaccine for every citizen? The UK is way ahead of the USA in that department!



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071122/ap_on_he_me/britain_flu

[anneke]

Interesting and very scary!

In the last article Hazel cites, they mention the Hong Kong flu- I had that as a child and still remember how horrible I felt.

[TexanSquirrel]

Once there is an outbreak, do you think it will burn itself out like ebola or just keep on going?

[hazel]

Pandemics always end, at least temporarily. From a virus's ''point of view'', you need a host in which to live so there's no point in killing off all the hosts.

Again, the book reviewed in the JAMA article is on the HSUS site. It almost reads like a novel. :thumbsup

[jules]

Ok, so now Im starting to get paranoid!:shakehead

We have yet another virus...this time attacking wild rabbits!
When will it all stop....how come we are getting all this disease now!

Sure we have had them before, then they die out, but lately we are getting them all at once and they are not dissapearing for long enough!:dono

The UK is fast becoming a nation of disease!:shakehead

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/7115026.stm

This year we have had foot and mouth, blue tongue and avian flu!!!!!!!

[hazel]

More bad news....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071128/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_britain_toads


I think this fungus is worldwide now.

[jules]

GREAT!:shakehead

I think Im going to emigrate!:D