AVIAN FLU

[bill_bennie]

Bruno, excellant response to the article.

 

Please do not be alarmed....be informed!!!!!!!!

 

As like you say that was a differant enviornment and today with the currently

available antiviral drugs they should be able to prevent another world-wide

outbreak from happening.

Atleast that is what they are saying every day when I check up on what's new.

There is always something reported every day, but mostly they are just repeating

what has already been said. I do hope that is a good sign.

 

Yours in the Sport - Bill.

[Guest]

With your permission webmaster, I'll double-post this item here (specific relevance) and under a new thread (general relevance)

 

 

Extract from Herald Friday 7th October.

 

The new Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill unveiled yesterday …(places) a duty of care on pet owners (and) would allow action to be taken to protect animals before suffering occurs….oulaws animals as prizes….safeguards the welfare of domestic, pet and captive animals…includes measures to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks and enhance the Scottish Executive’s ability to respond where they emerge….

 

 

“SCHEDULE 3A

(introduced by section 32E)

 

POWER OF SLAUGHTER FOR PREVENTING SPREAD OF DISEASE: SCOTLAND

 

Exercise of powers of slaughter

 

7 The Scottish Ministers may, in relation to a disease, exercise a power of slaughter conferred by paragraphs 1 to 6 whether or not the animals, birds or amphibians concerned—

 

(a) are affected with the disease or suspected of being affected with the disease;

 

( are or have been in contact with animals, birds or amphibians affected

with the disease;

 

© have been in any way exposed to the disease; or

 

(d) have been treated with serum or vaccine (or both) against the disease.

 

 

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills/pdfs/b47s2-introd.pdf

 

 

 

 

Please note that this would be in addition to the Contingency Plan Powers.

[speedbird]

no point upsetting our selves lets se what our neighbors in europe do with there birds mostly pigeons

[Guest]

Got on to that one yesterday, Speedbird.  

 

Emailed Peter Bryant at RPRA for help in obtaining an English copy of the information on the Dutch Homing Union's website on their 2003 experience of the H7N7 outbreak. He has the international connections, so he should hopefully come up with the goods.

 

(And a copy of their 1995/6 programme to upgrade their transporters too - more on that elsewhere when I get it)

 

Peter Bryant  is on holiday until Tuesday 11th, so there will be some delay in getting it, unless you can translate Dutch to English. (Don't all rush at once now!).

 

The website address for Avian flu is:

 

www.npo.nl>Achtergrond>Bijdragen van de WOWD>Vogelpest05022004

 

 

The website address for the transporter stuff:

 

www.npo.nl>Actueel>arcief>WOWD over duivenstransport en temperatuur

 

 

(For some reason the full address gives a broken link. Page-by-page shown above instead)

 

[preston powerblast]

My God?

I have missed so much not been on for a while.

I have been doing a lot of work testing new stuff and new strategies, plus doing my normal work besides.

There is much going on behind the scenes, but people are being told not to panic and everything at the mo is on a need to know basis.

believe it or not Britain is more than prepared.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3435491a11,00.html

Dont know if anybody has read this.

I know its miles away, but its also miles away from Europe.

[Guest]

This is a bit closer:  :'(

 

CNN - 8th October 2005

 

Romania isolates bird flu village

 

ROMANIA - Romanian officials quarantined a Danube delta village of about 30 people Friday after three dead ducks there tested positive for bird flu -- the first such cases reported in the region. Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur said the virus found in the farm-raised ducks came from migrating birds from Russia. And while it is difficult for the virus to spread from birds to humans, authorities were taking no chances. They sealed off the village of Ciamurlia and banned hunting and fishing in eight counties in the region.

 

 

[Guest]

Bird flu strikes Turkey, Romania

 

Saturday 08 October 2005, 22:56 Makka Time, 19:56  GMT

 

Romania and Turkey have reported cases of avian flu and have begun to cull hundreds of birds to prevent the globally feared disease from spreading.

 

Animals slaughtered

 

Turkish Farm Minister Mehdi Eker told CNN Turk television on Saturday that 2000 turkeys had died of the disease on a farm in Balikesir province near the Aegean Sea in western Turkey.

 

All animals on the farm had been slaughtered to prevent the disease spreading.

 

"Yesterday, unfortunately, we experienced a case of bird flu. But everything is under control. Every precautionary measure has been taken to prevent it spreading," CNN Turk quoted Eker as saying.

 

The minister gave no details of the outbreak. The figure of 2000 deaths from the bird flu, cited by CNN Turk, appears high for an initial finding on a case.

 

The farm is near a natural park known for its rich birdlife.

 

CNN Turk quoted the provincial deputy governor, Halil Yavuz Kaya, as saying the turkeys could have contracted the disease from migratory birds. Animals were barred from going in and out of the village, he said.

 

Full Story:

 

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/49F89606-7247-4035-A899-795A0E87BFD7.htm

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

DUTCH POULTRY RELEASE : NOT QUITE WHAT WE UNDERSTOOD. THEY'RE CHANGING OVER TO THE 'GERMAN' MODEL'. WHAT THE GERMANS DID WENT UNREPORTED UNTIL NOW.

 

 

Reliable and unambiguous information is becoming quite difficult to find and I have tried to stear clear of newspaper reports as much as possible given that their main aim is to run stories that sell newspapers. Good news is also difficult to find (and I'm looking for it, I can assure you.    This one's a bit different as it gives further insight into precautions in Europe and offers 'some light at the end of tunnel' - the current higher risk period from bird migration is said to end in December).

 

Full story:

 

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2013162005

[THE FIFER]

i put anews article to basics 2/3 days ago regarding the romanian ducks,but not come on yet, the tests etc being done in uk,

                                                     the FIFER

[THE FIFER]

THE ROMANIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE REPORTED THAT THE INITIAL TESTS FOR AVIAN FLU REGARDING THE DEAD DUCKS HAVE COME OUT NEGATIVE.

[cheeseymoney]

wow isn't it scary they just "discovered" the avain flu. how did it come to be? personally i hope the u.s doesn't get hit. i can't believe they exspect some 1 million people to :'( be killed by this epidemic. :'(

[Guest]

Rose, your post highlights part of my problem with the way this is being handled in the UK. Powerblast has let slip some 'state secrets' in his recent post especially the 'need to know basis'. Well one of the important things the public needs to know is that should they come across any dead bird(s) - first and most important of all, DON'T TOUCH IT / THEM. Secondly, DON'T LET ANYONE ELSE TOUCH IT / THEM. And if there's a number of dead birds? Well who do you call: 999? Environmental Health? Special Helpline number?

 

I resent both being distrusted by my Government and being deliberately kept in the dark.  Some posts talked for example about the fear of drastic actions' by their neighbours. Well the Media Frenzy took place during week commencing Monday 22nd August. If stupid people were going to act stupidly they would most probably have done so then. It's now Monday 10th October and still no Government mailshot to calm / inform people of what is expected of them - especially about the common sense things like being extra careful feeding wild birds in the parks or on the ponds, or what to do if they see anything unusual happening there.

 

 

[preston powerblast]

At the end of the day we know it going to come, its just a case of when.

How many people will actually report it?

When will the public be informed?

We still see a lot of curtain sided trucks delivering birds with no curtain sides on.

If it does follow transport routes then where I live will be well infected as we have a chicken slaughter house on our doorstep.

Its truley scarey when you think about it.

[Guest]

Well I think that many of the media trails are now leading to dead ends (stop without telling us what the outcomes were) or are just plain confusing. I note what Fifer says about Romania, (not avian flu) yet @ 2332 on Monday, Tuesday's edition of an on-line paper reports final results still awaited; Germany taking additional precautions; EU on high alert etc.

 

Nothing about Romania or Turkey on WHO Website. Latest situation update there is on Indonesia with news of a further human case confirmed (10th Oct). Appears media have totally lost the plot there (clampdown?) with one reporting Government has declared epidemic status (talking about human infections here - not birds) followed by Government retraction,  while another newspaper reports epidemic status declared in birds. Really worrying since this is world's 4th largest population.

 

Most significantly, WHO carries new advice of a conference in Geneva on 7-9 November, to discuss avian flu and human flu pandemic. The people attending and the language used show that they are expecting a pandemic.  

 

Full details:

 

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2005/meeting_avian_influenza/en/index.html

 

[Guest]

Rose, we seem to be tuned into similar wave lengths here.  

 

The first thing that happens when a country reports Avian flu within its boundaries is the 'rest of the world' impose an economic blockade on imports from the affected country. Indonesia kept quiet for 18 months before informing its own population that it had Avian flu in its poultry, worth around £150M to its economy. No bloody wonder everyone is so quick to try and play it down - it could mean economic sanctions for years e.g. the BSE residual restrictions were still in place (sale and export of British Beef) and only lifted this month. How long ago was the BSE outbreak?

 

An on-line newspaper carried a picture of how Romania is dealing with its outbreak in ducks. It showed one 'space suited' culler dropping a single live duck into a wheelybin loaded on the back of a small pick-up van. The caption? "Duck being put in container prior to gassing". I think if that is the sum total of the facilities and preparedness of the 'buffer states' that we are relying upon to stop this outbreak spreading towards us, then perhaps assistance in terms of economic aid,  facilities appropriate to the task in hand, and additional manpower to do the job quickly is a more effective and humane strategy than taking economic sactions.

 

 

[Guest]

LETTER DATED 10/10/05 FROM SCOTTISH HOMING UNION RECIEVED THIS MORNING.

 

"Your letters to John Barlow, SHU President, regarding Asian (sic) Flu were discussed at the October Statutory meeting of the Scottish Homing Union.

 

Current information from the (Scottish) Executive is that a survey of poultry flocks in the UK has shown that there is no virus present in these flocks. In addition, a survey of wild migratory birds is underway to determine if there is any virus present within those populations. It was stated that the above surveys were carried out "as a matter of policy and science" rather than as a reaction to recent press reports. When the survey work is complete, it would be considered by vets who would make recommendations on a "risk basis" and if necessary the Executive would make directives that were appropriate to those risks.

 

We have been told that no directive is considered necessary at present, however, in the event that the authorities make any directive in future months with regard to this situation, the SHU Office will be notified. In that case, as with any information regarding anu notifiable disease, the SHU Office would advise SHU organisation secretaries accordingly."

[Guest]

Cheeseymoney, just a note to acknowledge your post.  

 

Again, I would emphasise that you should not be scared by this thing, simply informed and adequately prepared. Aim for 0 human infections and 0 human deaths, starting with yourself as No1 in a chain of many chains.

 

 

 

[Guest]

Bill's post on the worst outbreak was interesting and informative in that it confirmed that avian flu has been around for quite a long time - the earliest recorded (I believe) was in 1890. The article was slightly adrift on 1918 being the only bird flu; each of the flus causing "the 30 year pandemic flu cycle" has an avian flu 'origin'.

 

One of the scientists leading the hunt and has work published in the Journal of Virology, has determined that the bird species that gave rise to the 1918 pandemic 'is of unknown origin'. That's the basis of the current work, ongoing since 2000, trying to trace back the viral family tree, to see if all of these more recent virus families are descended from the 1918 'original' (H1N1?). If they are then there could still be an unknown bird species out there still carrying (and spreading) the virus.  

[Guest]

BBC NEWS24  : ITEM ON UK BIRD FLU WATCH

 

 

BBC News Website also has an article with a form for emailing comments. Have used this and mirrored Powerblast's previous comments on wildfowlers and their dogs out there on the marshes and the risks that they can bring the virus back into town with them. Long before the lab 'confirms' the virus is present, it's already out there at large, in the UK population.

 

Full story:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/default.stm

[Guest]

UK DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH : PANDEMIC FLU LEAFLET

 

 

Available for download (pdf) at:

 

http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/10/77/08/04107708.pdf

[speedbird]

in all these culls has any pigeons been slaughterd?

[Guest]

Speedbird, the information you request if pigeons are included in these culls just isn't out there in electronic form. Try a search yourself and if you turn anything up, post it. Perhaps anyone with an email contact with relatives and friends in any of the affected areas can find out and post it up?

[Guest]

UK CHANNEL 4 NEWS: DEBBIE REYNOLDS INTERVIEWED

 

Channel 4 news (Channel 104) ran a 5 minute piece tonight on Avian Flu. Spokesperson for free range poultry said Government would require to make the call to have poultry confined, and industry would be happy to conform.

 

Debbie Reynolds DEFRA's Chief Vet was asked in interview if there were any preventative measures in the Contingency Plan, like bringing these flocks indoors. She was savaged and visibly flustered when she explained the plan, details of which were posted up here earlier.

 

CHANNEL 4 NEWS "ALMOST ENTIRELY DEVOTED"  TO AVIAN FLU TOMORROW WEDNESDAY 12TH OCTOBER. MAYBE YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET SOME PIGEON QUESTIONS IN THE PROGRAMME?

[Guest]

CHANNEL 4 NEWS WEDNESDAY 12TH OCTOBER : AVIAN FLU

 

Details, email address for your questions, and the email questions people have already sent in for tomorrow night's programme:

 

http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=891#followOn

[speedbird]

yeah i have searched as like many more just wonderd if anyone had heard anything as its such a hot topic & not effecting our birds