Bird flu virus hits B.C. farms

[depakid]

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090124.BCFLU24/TPStory/National

VANCOUVER and ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- The Fraser Valley has been hit by what disease-control experts suspect is the third outbreak of avian flu to affect the prime agricultural area's numerous poultry flocks in less than five years. After samples taken from distressed turkeys at a 50,000-bird operation near Abbotsford were found to contain signs of the H5 virus, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency immediately slapped a quarantine on the farm and about two dozen others within a three-kilometre radius.

CFIA officials were waiting for the initial diagnosis to be confirmed by its national testing laboratory in Winnipeg before taking further action. Results are expected to be released some time today. Sandra Stephens, a disease-control specialist with the agency, said the affected farm's large turkey flock would be destroyed if the avian flu virus is substantiated, even though it appears to be a low pathogenic strain.

"We want to nip it in the bud, to make sure there is no chance that it will continue to circulate and make a jump from being low-path to high-path," Dr. Stephens said yesterday. In 2004, a low-pathogenic form of bird flu made a rapid conversion to a lethal, high-pathogenic virus in a Fraser Valley poultry barn, resulting in the killing of 17 million birds, the largest agricultural cull in Canadian history.

"That really demonstrated the reason why we act very quickly on each H5 and H7 virus ," Dr. Stephens said. "This virus multiplies incredibly fast in a bird's body."

Read more: Globe & Mail

[madrchsod]

1. well duh..raising thousands of birds in a confined space

naturally leads to disease especially among turkeys. it`s time to rethink the way poultry is raised

[mrs_p]

3. it probably happened because

there is a nearby pond with waterfowl. LPAI is endemic in waterfowl and it is not uncommon to isolate influenza from them.

[madrchsod]

5. thanks for the info

[mrs_p]

2. low path AI is endemic in bird populations

and usually doesn't cause clinical disease - and mutations to HPAI isn't as frequent (and easy) as the article would like us to believe. the worry is not because influenza replicates so fast (most microbes do) - it is because it is a RNA virus that has been evolutionarily successful partly because of mutations inherent in RNA error-prone replication. not that there shouldn't be any concern, but i think people should know this isn't as big a deal as they would like to portray...

[depakid]

4. What concerns me more is the potential economic impact

The prospect of culling millions- or tens of millions of birds is the very last thing we need at the moment....

[AtheistCrusader]

6. Things are so bad around the country...

on our side of the border, imagine the economic impact if Seattle got hit with an 8.2 right now, or the New Madrid Seismic Zone let loose?

There are ALWAYS disasters given a long enough time scale, and we don't have a lot of padding right now to absorb any major blows. Scary times.

[mrs_p]

7. true that. nt

[kimmerspixelated]

8. Exactly...

Big Pharma/Media will jump on it, though, you wait.

[mahina]

9. This answer is why I love DU...lots of smart people who see the real point.

Thanks, I would never have known that. Aloha.