03/09 | Daily Bird Flu Thread: USDA says "Report Sick Birds!"

Link to yesterday's thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=188841


Since January, 2004 WHO has reported human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) in the following countries:

* East Asia and the Pacific:
o Cambodia
o China
o Indonesia
o Thailand
o Vietnam

* Europe & Eurasia:
o Turkey

* Near East:
o Iraq
(see preliminary report)

Since December 2003, avian influenza A (H5N1) infections in poultry or wild birds have been reported in the following countries:

* Africa:
o Niger
o Nigeria

* East Asia & the Pacific:
o Cambodia
o China
o Hong Kong (SARPRC)
o Indonesia
o Japan
o Laos
o Malaysia
o Mongolia
o Thailand
o Vietnam

* Europe & Eurasia:
o Austria
o Azerbaijan
o Bosnia & Herzegovina (H5)
o Bulgaria
o Croatia
o France
o Germany
o Greece
o Hungary
o Italy
o Romania
o Russia
o Serbia and Montenegro (H5)
o Slovak Republic
o Slovenia
o Switzerland (H5)
o Turkey
o Ukraine

* Near East:
o Egypt
o Iraq (H5)
o Iran

* South Asia:
o India
o Kazakhstan
o Pakistan (H5)


For additional information about these reports, visit the
World Organization for Animal Health Web site.

Updated March 3, 2006
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/outbreaks/current.htm#animals

BioSecurity for Birds

Avian Influenza (AI)

What Is AI?

Worldwide, there are many strains of avian influenza (AI) virus that can cause varying amounts of clinical illness in poultry. AI viruses can infect chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, ducks, geese and guinea fowl, as well as a wide variety of other birds. Migratory waterfowl have proved to be a natural reservoir for the less infectious strains of the disease known as low pathogenicity avian influenza.

AI viruses can be classified into low pathogenicity (LPAI) and high pathogenicity (HPAI) based on the severity of the illness they cause. HPAI is an extremely infectious and fatal form of the disease that, once established, can spread rapidly from flock to flock. However, some LPAI virus strains are capable of mutating under field conditions into HPAI viruses.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) works to keep HPAI from becoming established in the U.S. poultry population.

What Are the Signs?

The clinical signs of birds affected with all forms of AI may show one or more of the following:

* Sudden death without clinical signs
* Lack of energy and appetite
* Decreased egg production
* Soft–shelled or misshapen eggs
* Swelling of the head, eyelids, comb, wattles, and hocks
* Purple discoloration of the wattles, combs, and legs
* Nasal discharge
* Coughing, sneezing
* Lack of coordination
* Diarrhea

How Is AI Spread?

Exposure of poultry to migratory waterfowl and the international movement of poultry, poultry equipment, and people pose risks for introducing AI into U.S. poultry. Once introduced, the disease can be spread from bird to bird by direct contact. AI viruses can also be spread by manure, equipment, vehicles, egg flats, crates, and people whose clothing or shoes have come in contact with the virus. AI viruses can remain viable at moderate temperatures for long periods in the environment and can survive indefinitely in frozen material. One gram of contaminated manure can contain enough virus to infect one million birds.

What can you do to prevent AI?

Materials that carry the AI virus can be picked up on shoes and clothing and moved from an area with sick birds to an area with healthy ones. Moving birds from one place to another can also spread diseases, especially because some birds can carry disease without looking sick. By making biosecurity a part of your daily routine while caring for your birds, you decrease the chance of AI showing up on your back doorstep.

In addition to international import restrictions, APHIS has increased surveillance efforts to detect AI if it is accidentally introduced into the United States. APHIS and State veterinarians trained to diagnose foreign animal diseases regularly conduct field investigations of suspicious disease conditions. This surveillance is enhanced by efforts from university personnel, State animal health officials, USDA-accredited veterinarians, and industry representatives.

To help keep your birds healthy:

1. Keep Your Distance.

Restrict access to your property and your birds. Consider fencing off the area where you keep your birds and make a barrier area if possible. Allow only people who take care of your birds to come into contact with them. If visitors have birds of their own, do not let them near your birds. Game birds and migratory waterfowl should not have contact with your flock because they can carry germs and diseases.

2. Keep It Clean.

Wear clean clothes, scrub your shoes with disinfectant, and wash your hands thoroughly before entering your bird area. Clean cages and change food and water daily. Clean and disinfect equipment that comes in contact with your birds or their droppings, including cages and tools. Remove manure before disinfecting. Properly dispose of dead birds.

3. Don’t Haul Disease Home.

If you have been near other birds or bird owners, such as at a feed store, clean and disinfect car and truck tires, poultry cages, and equipment before going home.

Have your birds have been to a fair or exhibition? Keep them separated from the rest of your flock for 2 weeks after the event. New birds should be kept separate from your flock for at least 30 days.

4. Don’t Borrow Disease From Your Neighbor.


Do not share birds, lawn and garden equipment, tools, or poultry supplies with your neighbors or other bird owners. If you do, bring these items home clean and disinfect them before they reach your property.

5. Know the Warning Signs of Infectious Bird Diseases.

Early detection is important to prevent the spread of disease.

* Sudden death
* Diarrhea
* Decreased or complete loss of egg production, soft-shelled, misshapen eggs
* Sneezing, gasping for air, nasal discharge, coughing
* Lack of energy and appetite
* Swelling of tissues around eyes and in neck
* Purple discoloration of the wattles, combs and legs
* Depression, muscular tremors, drooping wings, twisting of head and neck, in coordination, complete paralysis

6. Report Sick Birds.

Don’t wait. Early detection can make a difference. If your birds are sick or dying, call your local cooperative extension office, local veterinarian, the State Veterinarian, or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Veterinary Services office to find out why. USDA operates a toll-free hotline (1-866-536-7593) with veterinarians to help you.

Call your veterinarian or local extension agent to examine all of your sick birds or birds that die suddenly, especially if you have been around other people’s birds or brought new birds home.

What Is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Role in Preventing AI From Entering the United States?

USDA requires that imported birds (poultry, pet birds, birds exhibited at zoos, and ratites) be quarantined and tested for the avian influenza virus before entering the country. This precaution is taken to prevent foreign strains of AI from being introduced in the United States.

In addition to international import restrictions, APHIS has increased surveillance efforts to detect highly pathogenic avian influenza if it is accidentally introduced into the United States. APHIS and State veterinarians trained to diagnose foreign animal diseases regularly conduct field investigations of suspicious disease conditions. This surveillance is enhanced by efforts from university personnel, State animal health officials, USDA-accredited veterinarians, and industry representatives.

What should you do if your birds appear to have signs of AI?

Report Sick Birds! If your birds show signs of AI or may have been exposed to birds with the disease, you should notify Federal or State animal health officials or call 1-866-536-7593 (toll-free) or your local agricultural extension agent.

You are the best protection your birds have!

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/birdbiosecurity/hpai.html

China

China warns of more bird flu​

From: Agence France-Presse
From correspondents in Beijing

March 08, 2006

CHINA warned today it faced the danger of more outbreaks of bird flu, hours after the nation reported its 10th human fatality from the virus.

Vice agriculture minister Yin Chengjie said the upcoming bird migratory season and warmer weather posed particular dangers for China.

"We are coming into a period where the bird flu will be highly transmissible. As the weather warms up, more wild birds will be migrating and it will be easier for the bird flu to be transmitted to a wider area," Mr Yin said.

On the positive side, he said 33 outbreaks of bird flu among poultry reported in China since last year had been "eradicated and effectively controlled".

China had previously reported 34 outbreaks, with the latest one in the eastern province of Anhui on February 25.

The Government normally reports when an outbreak has been contained but has not yet given the all-clear to the Anhui one.

Mr Yin's comments came shortly after the health ministry said a nine-year-old girl had died of the bird flu in the eastern province of Zhejiang on Monday, marking China's 10th reported human death from the virus.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18395983-38197,00.html

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<B><font size=+1 color=red><center>State And Local Agencies Meet To Discuss Plans For Flu Outbreak</font>

Posted: 3/8/2006 10:14:05 PM
<A href="http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/tristate/story.aspx?content_id=40900357-F772-4992-BD32-585BCBAF02E8">www.myeyewitnessnews.com</a></center>
A state health official says there's a constant risk of pandemic influenza, but that the recent cases of bird flu overseas are more reason to plan now for a possible outbreak in Arkansas. Representatives of state, county and local governments met Wednesday at Ferndale, west of Little Rock, to discuss how communities in Arkansas are planning for pandemic flu should it affect the state. In January, Governor Huckabee announced the state was forming a specific plan for a possible outbreak.</b>

Doctor Nate Smith, medical director of infectious disease at the state Department of Health and Human Services, said Wednesday's Influenza Pandemic Conference was a way to give a progress report on the state's plan. The conference was also an opportunity for the Division of Health to hear local officials' views on decisions that would have to be made in their communities during an outbreak.

This is the scariest Avian flu article I've read to date, and that's saying a lot. Apologies in advance if this is a dupe, if it is, I missed it.

(edited to add: after much deliberation, I've decided to post this as a separate thread on the main board. I am aware this is written by someone who links to their page where they are selling a book - but if you go to their site, there are pages and pages of free, good prep information. That sounds like a lot of folks we listen to here at TB2k. If the author had an email address I'd contact him for footnotes or links to back up his data but I can't find one.)

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2006/3/emw355363.htm
(fair use applies)

Bird Flu Almost Ready to Go Pandemic
Scientists discover bird flu virus one gene away from human to human transmission.

(PRWEB) March 8, 2006 -- Scientists have now verified through gene sequencing that the H5N1 virus has been rapidly mutating and evolving towards a strain that will be deadly for humans. Six months ago scientists estimated that the H5N1 virus needed to make about five changes to it’s gene structure for it to be deadly for humans. Now it requires only one last change.

The present strains of avian influenza (bird flu) are mainly infecting only birds, with only a relatively small number of humans being infected. The reason for the drastic preparations now being made by most countries in the world to protect themselves from this virus is that the H5N1 virus still has a very high mortality rate. It can kill up to 100% of domestic chickens and at present can kill an alarming 55% of people that become infected. If a pandemic occurs from a virus with even one quarter of this mortality rate then the world consequences will be horrendous.

From the World Health Organization statistics only 190 people have been infected since 2003 with the H5N1 virus and of these 92 have died. Most of these people had some direct contact with infected chickens of some kind. Some inefficient human to human transmission has also occurred in some cases.

It appears that it is inevitable that a bird flu pandemic will eventually occur. Some scientists expect that the last genetic change needed for efficient human to human transmission by the H5N1 virus may occur when migrating birds carrying the H5N1 virus begin their return journey in Spring. (Northern hemisphere). This means that there is a possibility that a pandemic could occur within two months.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has now spread to at least 40 countries around the world. The general unhygienic practices combined with poorly developed health systems in some of these countries will create many opportunities for the last genetic change needed for the H5N1 virus to spread from humans to humans as easily as the common cold. It is likely that this change could occur several times in different countries. If it occurs in an underdeveloped country then there will be little chance of detecting it or stopping it from spreading worldwide.

It is estimated that when the H5N1 virus changes to an efficient human to human strain that it would only take three weeks for human H5N1 virus outbreaks to occur everywhere around the world. Computer models from the Los Alamos laboratory predict that it will only take another three to six weeks for the pandemic to spread completely through a country and reach it’s peak infection rate. This rapid rate of spreading infection will be due to the international and domestic plane transport system. Since H5N1 has an incubation period of two to ten days then it will be impossible to screen infected but still contagious passengers. Depending on the country it originates in, a contagious and deadly H5N1 virus could be seeded around the world before health authorities are aware that a pandemic has started. The World Health Organization has stated that all health systems in every country will be overwhelmed and infected people will have to be cared for at home.

Apart from the direct consequences of large numbers of infected people dying, a potentially worst catastrophe will also occur. Recent surveys have shown that only 30% to 50 % of workers would show up for work if a pandemic occurred. Combined this with 50% of willing workers being infected and others being quarantined then the workforce will be seriously deleted.

It would be very prudent to expect essential supplies and services of any kind will be in very short supply throughout the main wave of the pandemic. This may occur throughout the whole world at the same time. If you think about the possible nightmare consequences of this then you will realize the importance of stocking up your own personal supplies now. Panic buying will ensure that no stocks will be available when the pandemic begins. There is a series of important items to help protect you from the virus which can be found at http://www.bird-flu-influenza.com.

Us officials are now going state to start telling communities to prepare for a six week quarantine. Ontario is bringing in legislation to fine absentee qualified health workers $100,000 and one jail for each day absent. Australian local councils are all attending government sponsored bird flu workshops. These isolated government actions suggests something may be happening soon.

Information from governments to the public is being suppressed and downplayed to prevent panic. The Australian government will not release information to the public on how to prepare for a pandemic and look after infected family members until a pandemic starts. By then it will be too late to buy stocks and understand what to do. This is not a normal flu.

By Stephen Jones
Biologist and Author of the Bird Flu Survival Guide (www.bird-flu-influenza.com)

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Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/UGlnZy1Db3VwLVN1bW0tSW5zZS1IYWxmLVplcm8=

H5N1 Virus Confirmed in Serbia​

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?catid=125&newsid=84141&ch=0

9 March 2006 | 13:13 | FOCUS News Agency

Belgrade. Tests at EU referent lab in Britain have confirmed the swan found dead in Serbia has been infected with dangerous strain H5N1, RTS informs citing announcement by Veterinary Medicine Department.
The bird was found a few days ago near village of Backi Monostor (northern Serbia). This is the third bird flu case in this region.

Migratory birds screened as flu lookout intensifies​

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060309/WIRE/203090325/1117/news

The Associated Press

March 09. 2006 6:01AM
The federal government is boosting its effort to look for bird flu in migratory birds, planning to test five to six times as many birds this year alone as it has screened since 1998.

Much of the effort will focus on Alaska, where scientists worry that birds arriving from Asia - beginning next month - will bring in the H5N1 virus and pass it along to other birds, which will fly south this fall.

Scientists had already been watching for the deadly flu strain in wild birds in Alaska and North American migratory flyways. But the effort is being dramatically stepped up this year, said John Clifford, chief veterinarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is working with other agencies on the program.

Scientists will study live birds, others that are found dead or killed by hunters, and environmental samples that might carry the worrisome form of bird flu. While most concern about birds flying south through the United States focuses on their Pacific route in the western states, other migratory paths will be included, Clifford said.

The goal is to test 75,000 to 100,000 live or dead birds this year, said Angela Harless of the USDA. The testing, which will also include some Pacific Ocean islands, will focus on waterfowl and shorebirds.

At the same time, Clifford said, officials will continue to monitor other activities that may introduce the virus to the United States: importing and smuggling of birds.

The chief concern about the H5N1 flu in wild birds is that the virus might make its way to some of the 10 billion or so chickens produced every year in the United States. That could damage the poultry industry and pose a hazard for people who work with chickens. Virtually all bird flu cases in people reported so far are blamed on close contact with infected poultry.

Human cases are uncommon, but scientists worry that the virus may mutate into a form that can pass easily between people. That could lead to a worldwide flu epidemic.

It makes sense to focus the wild bird monitoring on Alaska, but migratory routes are so complex there's no guarantee that Alaska is where the virus will first arrive in North America, or that it will follow recognized flyways from there, says Ken Rosenberg, director of conservation science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, N.Y.

Migrating birds can show up "virtually anywhere and come from virtually anywhere. That's just the nature of birds and bird migration," he said.

Rosenberg said he expects the deadly flu now wreaking havoc in Asia and parts of Europe and Africa will show up in wild birds in the United States, and "I wouldn't be surprised if it will be within the next year." It might not appear in an outbreak that kills many birds, but rather in isolated cases, he said.

Rosenberg also said he's heard reports of people wanting to slaughter wild birds to protect against bird flu. "From a conservation perspective that would be a horrible thing to do, and it would be totally unwarranted given the situation we have today," he said.

Peter Marra of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the National Zoo in Washington said it's clear migratory birds have played a role in the spread of bird flu elsewhere, and that Alaska is an important place to look for it. But that's not the only way the virus could reach the United States.

"I would say movement of birds through the illegal pet trade is probably the most likely way it's going to get here," Marra said.

That's just a guess, he quickly added, but there is precedent in Taiwan.

where bird smuggling is common, confirmed last October that its first case of H5N1 bird flu appeared in birds smuggled from China. A Nigerian official has also blamed illegal poultry imports for delivering the virus to that country.

Clifford agreed that smuggling birds or bird products is a possible route into the country, and said the government will boost its anti-smuggling efforts as well. Those efforts include not only inspections at the border, but also teams within the United States that survey exotic food markets, live bird markets and restaurants for signs of illegal animals.

As for legal imports, virtually all live birds that enter the United States have to go through a 30-day quarantine and be tested for bird flu and other viruses, Clifford noted. The government doesn't allow imports of birds from countries that have H5N1 in poultry flocks.

Norway

Norway tests dead ducks for H5N1 bird flu​

Thu Mar 9, 2006 10:32 AM GMT

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway is testing two ducks for the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu after finding 12 birds dead in the same area, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority said on Thursday.

Neighbouring Sweden reported cases of the H5N1 avian flu last month but Norway has found no cases despite dozens of tests. Wednesday's find in Jaeren, southwest Norway, was the largest discovery of dead birds in one place.

But the birds had not all died at roughly the same time as might be typical in a flu outbreak -- only two of the ducks had died recently enough to be tested for the virus.

"Last night two dead and one sick duck were found," the Food Safety Authority said in a statement. "Nearby there were relatively fresh remains of 10 other birds."

"We'll have the first test results today, and that will give us a good indication. But it takes up to 24 hours to confirm if the birds had the aggressive variant, H5N1," Eivind Lien, a senior adviser at the agency, told Reuters.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/new..._01_L09611218_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BIRDFLU-NORWAY.xml

Indonesia Says Three-Year-Old Boy May Be 21st Bird-Flu Fatality​

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=afHHcr9izdlU&refer=asia

March 8 (Bloomberg) -- A three-year-old boy from Central Java who died last week may be Indonesia's 21st bird-flu fatality, a health ministry official said, citing tests reported by a laboratory in Jakarta.

The boy had been treated at a hospital in Semarang, where he died on March 3, Hariadi Wibisono, director of vector-borne disease control at the ministry, said in a telephone interview today. A five-year-old boy and a woman in her fifties were admitted today to the Sayidiman Hospital with suspected avian flu, said Masnan, a doctor at the hospital in the East Java town of Magetan.

Deaths reported in Indonesia from the H5N1 strain of avian influenza have increased each month since November as the disease infected more poultry flocks in the world's fourth most- populous nation.

The government aims to increase the number of hospitals capable of treating infected people to 100 from 44 by the end of the year and plans to build more supplies of Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu antiviral medication, Minister of People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie said last month.

Late yesterday a 15-year-old boy was transferred to Jakarta's Sulianti Saroso hospital after being treated for one day in a hospital in Cianjur, West Java, southeast of the capital city.

``Clinical symptoms indicate he could be suffering from bird flu,'' said Ilham Patu, a doctor at the Sulianto Saroso. ``Dead pigeons and chickens found have been found in his neighborhood, but there is no connection yet with the patient,'' Patu said.

Tests reported by a local laboratory showed a woman who died on March 6 didn't have the virus, said Wibisono at the health ministry. She was five months pregnant.

America

Bird Flu Coming To America​

March 9, 2006, 06:26 AM EST Experts say the bird flu could get the Americas in the next 6 to 12 months. The UN's chief bird flu expert chief bird-flu expert thinks the deadly strain of the disease will hit the Americas in the next six to 12 months. Doctor David Nabarro says migratory patterns will probably take birds carrying the virus from West Africa to the Arctic and Alaska this spring. And then, he says, some infected birds will likely move south in the fall to the Americas. Fewer than 100 people have died from it, mostly in Asia. But scientists worry that the virus will mutate into a form that could lead to a worldwide human pandemic.

http://www.wtvr.com/global/story.asp?s=4607152&ClientType=Printable

OIE Warns of H5N1 Migration to North America and Australia ​

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/03080602/H5N1_OIE_America_Austrailia.html

Recombinomics Commentary
March 8, 2006

Australia, Canada and the United States stand a "very high" risk of seeing the current H5N1 bird flu pandemic spread to their shores, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) warned.
.
"The probability of this strain appearing in Australia is very high. The possibility is also very high for the United States and Canada," OIE Director General Bernard Vallat told a French parliamentary commission on the disease.

The above comments by OIE are consistent with sequence analysis of H5N1 in wild birds in Astrakhan as well as H5N2 in British Columbia. The United States is planning on dramatically increasing surveillance, which is long overdue.

Canada released some data on their surveillance of birds banded in southern Canada in August. The released data revealed an unexpectedly high frequency of H5 detection in young healthy wild birds. All reporting provinces had H5 and British Columbia 24% of the birds tested were positive. However, only a partial sequence of two of the genes from a farm duck H5N2 isolate has been released. The N2 sequence had a large number of polymorphism historically founding Asia, indicating wild birds had recently been shuttling N2 sequences (largely from H9N2) in Asia into North America.

Similarly, sequences from recent H5N1 isolates in Astrakhan identified a number of American polymorphisms, suggesting earlier H5N1 migration to northeastern Canada. The August testing in southern Canada may have been too early to detect H5N,1 but analysis of a full dataset could define migratory paths of bird flu from both northeastern and northwestern Canada.

Recent sequences fro H5N1 isolates in China show evidence of extensive recombination between wild bird sequences. Tree sparrow sequences were identified in waterfowl and domestic poultry in eastern China, especially Henan province. The extent of recombination varied from isolate to isolate or gene to gene ranging from about 1/3 of the gene down to a single nucleotide. The single nucleotide changes can be used to trace migration in the past, which can be used to trace future migrations.

The United States is planning a dramatic increase in surveillance in Alaska. However, Canada already has a database of sequences from 2005 isolates that include H5N1, H5N2, H5N3, and H5N9 isolates. Release of these sequences would greatly enhance surveillance reports.

Similarly, WHO affiliated labs at Weybridge have sequestered a large number of sequences from H5N1 isolates throughout Europe. Release of these sequences would also greatly enhance analysis.

WHO and consultants are monitoring sequences for reassortment and "random mutations" which they maintain are not predictive. However, the "random mutations" are largely recombinations and are very predictive. WHO should release the sequences so they can be fully analyzed.

Gathering Momentum

Fears bird flu may have adapted​

March 9, 2006

GENEVA: Reports that cats have contracted bird flu could mean the virus is adapting to mammals and poses a potentially higher risk to humans, a World Health Organisation official says.

Michael Perdue, a scientist with the organisation's global influenza program, said more studies were needed on infections in cats, including how they shed the virus.

But Dr Perdue said that there was no evidence that cats were hidden carriers of the virus, which can wipe out poultry flocks in 48 hours and infect people.

Austria said on Monday that a cat in an animal sanctuary in the southern city of Graz had tested positive for the H5N1 avian flu virus but had yet to show any symptoms of the disease.

However, the virus could take up to a week to strike and it was possible the cat could still develop clinical signs, Dr Perdue said.

"We have to follow up with laboratory studies to see if it [the virus] changed genetically and is not causing clinical signs," he said.

"If it is true, it would imply the virus has changed significantly."

Germany last week reported the first European case of H5N1 bird flu in a domestic cat on the island of Ruegen. A spokeswoman for the German Agriculture Ministry said another two dead cats found there on Monday were confirmed to have had H5N1.

The virus has killed 96 people in East Asia and the Middle East since late 2003. China reported on Tuesday that a nine-year-old girl in the country's east was its latest victim. Most bird flu victims contracted the disease directly from sick poultry.

Animals carrying H5N1 without showing any signs of ill health could make it harder to detect and contain.

The longer the virus remains dormant in a mammal, without it getting sick or dying, the greater the risk of it mutating into a more dangerous form, Dr Perdue said.

Reuters

http://smh.com.au/news/world/fears-bird-flu-may-have-adapted/2006/03/08/1141701573946.html

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09532415.htm

Serbia says H5N1 bird flu strain found in swan
09 Mar 2006 10:29:27 GMT

Source: Reuters


BELGRADE, March 9 (Reuters) - Serbia confirmed on Thursday its first case of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in a swan found last week in the northern Sombor region, close to the Croatian border.

The head of Serbia's veterinary directorate, Dejan Krnjaic, said the result was confirmed by a reference laboratory in Weybridge, Britain. He said another swan found dead in western Serbia was also assumed to have had H5N1.

In both cases, areas within a 10 km (6 mile) radius of where the swans were found have been declared risk zones and veterinarians were monitoring all wild fowl within it. All domestic poultry in Serbia was being kept indoors.

Germany: another mammal with H5N1

Bird flu virus found in weasel-like mammal in Germany ​

March 9, 2006 4:27 AM

BERLIN (AP) - The H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in a weasel-like mammal called a stone marten, a German laboratory said Thursday, indicating the disease has spread to another animal species.

The Friedrich-Loeffler Institute confirmed the presence of the virus in the marten, a carnivorous mammal with brown fur and a white throat patch. The animal was found sick and apparently dying on the island of Ruegen in northern Germany on March 2.

It was then killed by a government veterinarian, the institute said in a statement.

The deadly strain of bird flu was found in a cat on the same island last month, the first time the virus has been identified in an animal other than a bird in central Europe. Infected cats have since been found in Austria.

''The presence of an H5N1 infection in a second mammalian species is not surprising,'' Till Backhaus, the regional minister for agriculture, said in a statement. ''Cats and martens have a comparable prey spectrum.''

Cats are believed to have caught the virus by eating infected birds.

AP-WS-03-09-06 0726EST

http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=WORLD&ID=564696738364262111

Norway Tests Ducks for Bird Flu; Indonesians Treated for Virus​

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=adoe3lRVV2co&refer=europe

March 9 (Bloomberg) -- Norwegian authorities are testing birds to determine whether they died of avian influenza in what may be the country's first outbreak. At least a dozen people are being treated for the lethal virus in Indonesia.

Two dead and one sick wild duck were found south of the city of Stavanger yesterday, near the remains of another 10 dead birds, the country's veterinary institute said on its Web site today. Two children were hospitalized in Jakarta, taking to at least 12 the number of suspected avian-flu patients in Indonesia.

The rate of H5N1 infections in humans has increased this year as the virus spread to more parts of Asia, and to Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The virus has killed at least 96 of 175 people infected since late 2003. It is reported to have infected an average of three people a week this year, killing an average of two a week. Last year, 23 cases, including 14 fatalities, were reported in the first 10 weeks.

``We need to step up control to reduce contact between wild birds and poultry, and also contact between humans and wild birds,'' Gao Qiang, China's Minister of Health, told reporters in Beijing. China has reported 15 human cases of bird flu, including 10 deaths, and has screened 38,000 people for the virus.

Almost half the Indonesian fatalities from the deadly H5N1 strain have occurred this year. The 1-year-old boy and 4-year-old boy admitted to Sulianti Saroso Hospital yesterday aren't related, said Ilham Patu, a senior doctor at the hospital. Ten others are being treated for suspected avian flu, he said.

Marten Infected

Veterinarians from Australia to Kenya are stepping up checks for bird flu, reported to have spread to 22 countries in five weeks. The spread of the disease in birds raises the risk of human infection and may spark a pandemic such as the 1918 flu outbreak that killed 50 million people worldwide.

A beech marten from the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, where Germany's first cases of bird flu were detected last month, has tested positive for the H5N1 virus, the Federal Research Institute for Animal Health said. It's the second type of mammal after three cats to be infected with bird flu in Germany, where a total of six states have now detected the virus in wild birds.

``It is noteworthy that the spectrum of the H5N1 infected mammals has spread,'' the institute said in a statement. It's the first time a marten, a weasel-like creature, is known to have bird flu.

In Romania, blood samples from a swan and a moor hen in the town of Mangalia, by the Black Sea, tested positive for the H5N1 virus, the Agriculture Ministry said. Samples from the town of Harsova, in the country's east, also tested positive for the H5 virus. As many as 42 outbreaks have been reported in Romania since October, according to the ministry.

Serbia, Kenya

Serbia said a U.K. laboratory confirmed that a wild swan within its borders was infected with the H5N1 virus, Agence France-Presse reported. The swan was found dead near the Danube River, near the border with Croatia and Hungary, AFP said.

``More than 300 birds have been tested'' in Kenya, including around the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa, Livestock and Fisheries Minister Joseph Konzollo Munyao said in a statement on the government's Web site yesterday. Veterinary workers were told ``to move out in the field and actively search for the disease.''

Birds migrating over the Arctic Circle from Africa and Europe in the next few months may carry the virus to Alaska, David Nabarro, the United Nations' coordinator for bird flu and pandemic influenza, said in New York yesterday.

The virus probably will be carried to the rest of the U.S. six months later when birds that pick it up in Alaska migrate south, Nabarro said.

U.S. Risk

Federal, state and local health officials in the U.S. may test as many as 100,000 birds for the virus this year, mainly in Alaska, said Frank Quimby, a spokesman for the U.S. Interior Department.

``Americans should be concerned, and they seem to be taking the appropriate steps,'' said Peter Beers, a veterinarian coordinating bird flu efforts for Australia's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry in Canberra. ``They have a lot of waterfowl migrating across the Bering Strait and Bering Sea.''

U.S. zoos are making contingency plans and developing a national surveillance system for the protection of their animals and customers pending the arrival of bird flu, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing zoo officials. Indoor quarantines of susceptible animals such as birds and big cats are possible.

Australia plans to spend an extra A$1.6 million ($1.2 million) on monitoring for the H5N1 strain and increasing public awareness, said Carson Creagh, a spokesman for the government's quarantine agency.

Bird flu 'heading for America'​

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=175416996&p=y754y77xz

09/03/2006 - 12:15:15

Bird flu could reach the Americas in six to 12 months or even sooner following its rapid expansion through Asia, Europe and Africa, the UN bird flu chief said yesterday.

David Nabarro said wild birds are carrying the H5N1 virus and their migratory patterns will probably take some infected birds from west Africa to the Arctic and Alaska this spring.

Some infected birds will then probably move south in the autumn on a different migratory route into the Americas, he said.

“I think it’s within the next six to 12 months, and who knows? We’ve been wrong on other things. It may be earlier.”

So far, human cases are uncommon and virtually all people who have got bird flu have had close contact with infected poultry.

But scientists worry that the virus may mutate into a form that can pass easily between people, which could lead to a worldwide flu epidemic.

Dr Nabarro reiterated the World Health Organisation’s warning that “there will be a pandemic sooner or later” in humans, perhaps due to H5N1, perhaps due to another influenza virus, and it could start any time.

There is already an epidemic in bird flu, called “an epizootic” in animals, which is gradually transforming itself into a pandemic, or “panzootic”, he said.

“Because it is moving and because we believe wild birds are implicated, predicting where it’s going to flare up next is a very tricky thing to do, and being able to know the scale of the flare-up is also quite tricky,” Dr Nabarro said.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health are “very challenged by the expansion in the incidence of avian influenza that’s occurred during the last three months as it’s moved through eastern Europe, into western Europe into the Middle East, into India, into Africa”, he said.

“And they’re expecting it to continue to expand.”

Dr Nabarro said the UN is focusing on reducing the amount of H5N1 in poultry, through culling and vaccinations.

The FAO and the Organisation for Animal Health are putting together “an emergency cadre of vets who are able to travel to trouble spots in the world where there is avian influenza at a moment’s notice”, he said.

The prime focus at the moment is on Africa, especially west Africa where many families rely on chickens for their economic livelihoods and have no money to build coops or soap to help prevent H5N1 infections, he said.

“There is a regional crisis in west Africa associated with H5N1” with Nigeria and Niger already affected, Dr Nabarro said. “But we are frankly anticipating that we will find the virus in other west African countries and there is a lot of preparatory work under way.”

In western Europe, there are a lot of reports of H5N1 in dead wild birds from an increasing number of countries ”but there are very few instances of movement of the virus into the domestic and commercial poultry populations”, he said.

The US government hopes to test 75,000 to 100,000 live and dead birds this year, a significant increase over past years, and much of the effort will focus on Alaska, according to US Department of Agriculture officials.

Dr Nabarro said an international conference on wild birds will be held in June, which is expected to include the results of research now under way. The next major international review of global bird flu efforts will also be in June, he said.

“We have to behave as though this could start any time, because if we don’t, we’ll put off getting prepared,” Dr Nabarro said.

Azerbaijan tests 10 people for suspected bird flu​

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09654539.htm

09 Mar 2006 12:11:38 GMT

Source: Reuters

GENEVA, March 9 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan is sending samples from at least 10 people, including three who died, to Britain for bird flu tests, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.

The Azeris were believed to be from one or two families from an area where the deadly H5N1 virus has been found among birds, WHO spokeswoman Maria Cheng said. "There have been three deaths, with symptoms somewhat similar to H5N1 infection," Cheng said. "The samples are from a cluster of 10 or 11 people in a region where H5N1 has apparently led to a die-off in birds."

No testing had been done in Azerbaijan, but the samples were being sent later in the day for testing at a WHO collaborating laboratory in Britain, she added.

On Saturday, Deputy Health Minister Abbas Velibeyev said a family of six may have contracted the disease, although it was too early to be sure. The preliminary diagnosis was severe pneumonia, but the family -- whose two children died -- at the time kept chickens, leading to suspicions, he said.

The samples being sent to Britain were believed to include ones relating to this family.

Azerbaijan, which lies at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, discovered the H5N1 strain of bird flu among wild birds last month. Bird flu has since affected a poultry farm near the capital Baku.

WHO officials have been in the former Soviet state since bird flu outbreaks among humans and flocks in neighbouring Turkey to help Azeri authorities carry out risk assessment and boost preparedness, according to Cheng.

The H5N1 virus has killed 96 people worldwide since 2003, in a total of seven countries in Asia and the Middle East, according to the WHO, a United Nations agency.

Scientists fear it is only a matter of time before the virulent virus mutates into a form that passes easily among people, triggering a pandemic which could kill millions.

Expect H5N1 virus in North America soon: UN​

(CBC) - The dangerous H5N1 form of the bird flu virus could reach North America within six to 12 months, according to the United Nations' top avian flu preparedness official.

Dr. David Nabarro said Wednesday that wild birds will likely carry the virus from West Africa across the North Atlantic into the Arctic this spring.

Migratory birds flying south for the winter will then spread the virus into the rest of North America and eventually South America, Nabarro told a briefing in New York.

"Frankly, there will be a pandemic, sooner or later," he said. "It might be due to H5N1 or to some other influenza virus and it could start any time."

- Deadly outbreak has claimed 96 lives -

The deadly form of bird flu first showed up in Asia more than two years ago.

Since then, there have been 175 documented cases of the disease passing from infected birds to humans, usually in cases where people were living or working in close contact with domestic poultry.

A total of 96 people have died, mostly in Southeast Asia and China, according to a World Health Organization tally being updated daily.

If the virus mixes with a human flu virus to make it more contagious among people, the death toll could rise quickly, UN health officials have warned.

- Marten confirmed to have carried H5N1 -

In a related development Thursday, a German lab said it had confirmed the presence of H5N1 in a stone marten, a weasel-like animal known to feed on wild birds.

The infected animal was found on the island of Ruegen in northern Germany one week ago, the Friedrich-Loeffler Institute said.

The virus has previously been detected in cats, tigers and leopards, including three cats recently found dead in Germany who were thought to have eaten the carcasses of infected wild birds. It is not known to have cropped up in any other mammal.

The Serbian agriculture minister also said the deadly form of the virus has been detected in a swan found dead in Serbia.

- Animal shelters seeing influx of cats -

Meanwhile, fear of family pets picking up the virus from eating wild birds has led to a flood of abandoned cats in France as people act on what experts are describing as an "avian flu psychosis."

Gino Bardet, the manager of a shelter in Brignais, near Lyon, says 50 cats were abandoned in the past two days, more than twice the usual number.

"People have to stop bringing their cats to shelters because shelters are already overcrowded," he told CBC News. "And also, people have to come adopt cats as soon as possible."

- FROM MARCH 6, 2006: Bird flu now bigger challenge than AIDS, says WHO

French farm unions say poultry sales have dropped 15 per cent in the wake of news that one farm had tested positive for the virus, leading to quarantines in the region that raises the famous Bresse chickens.

France's agriculture minister has put out a statement saying the risk of catching bird flu from a domestic cat is negligible, and eating well-cooked poultry is thought to pose no risk.

http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=cbc/world_home&articleID=2192647

Azerbaijan

Eleven suspected human bird flu cases in Azerbaijan: WHO ​

09/03/2006 19:27

GENEVA, March 9, 2006 - Eleven suspected human cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus, three of them fatal, are under investigation in Azerbaijan, the World Health Organisation said Thursday.

http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=17681

PCViking said:

Bird flu virus found in weasel-like mammal in Germany ​

March 9, 2006 4:27 AM

BERLIN (AP) - The H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in a weasel-like mammal called a stone marten, a German laboratory said Thursday, indicating the disease has spread to another animal species.

The Friedrich-Loeffler Institute confirmed the presence of the virus in the marten, a carnivorous mammal with brown fur and a white throat patch. The animal was found sick and apparently dying on the island of Ruegen in northern Germany on March 2.

It was then killed by a government veterinarian, the institute said in a statement.

The deadly strain of bird flu was found in a cat on the same island last month, the first time the virus has been identified in an animal other than a bird in central Europe. Infected cats have since been found in Austria.

''The presence of an H5N1 infection in a second mammalian species is not surprising,'' Till Backhaus, the regional minister for agriculture, said in a statement. ''Cats and martens have a comparable prey spectrum.''

Cats are believed to have caught the virus by eating infected birds.

AP-WS-03-09-06 0726EST

http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=WORLD&ID=564696738364262111

Click to expand...

Picture of a stone marten.....cute little guy.......

New Freedom said:

Picture of a stone marten.....cute little guy.......

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting the picture NF... it gives it more meaning to see what these little critters look like.

Alaska

Bird watchers get windfall ​

By DIANA CAMPBELL
Staff Writer


Thursday, March 09, 2006 - Bird professor Kevin Winker has seen grant money come and go, but until this year he had never witnessed the federal government dump millions into bird watching.

But with the spring migration season beginning this month and a fear of the potential spread of bird flu, the federal government has put more than $3.5 million into a surveillance program to be conducted this spring, summer and fall in Alaska.

"It's very unusual," Winker said. "I can't remember when a suite of federal agencies decided to go into surveillance for a particular kind of disease."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to spend about half of the $7.2 million it got from Congress to study bird flu on surveillance in Alaska, said Deborah Rocque, Alaska avian flu coordinator. Since bird flu strain H5N1 got its start in Asia, officials are concerned birds that migrate to Alaska may bring it here.

"The birds are coming to breed from Asia and Russia," she said. "It makes perfect sense, we are on the front line."

But there is debate about how the flu is spreading. Some scientists minimize the potential for a spread to humans and others believe it is more likely to appear in North America through domestic fowl or exotic pets.

"If I were a chicken, I'd be deadly afraid," said Winker, who is a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the curator of birds for the University of Alaska Museum of the North. "But as a human, I'm not."

Most of the research in Alaska will focus on 22 species of birds and sampling will largely take place in Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, on the North Slope and in the Aleutian Islands where the Asian winter birds nest, Rocque said.

In the Interior, officials will look at land birds such as arctic warblers, gray cheek thrushes and sandhill cranes.

Winker, Rocque and other officials said the effort put into the surveillance program shouldn't be a sign that there is reason to panic. Even if the strain is found in Alaska, that doesn't mean humans can catch it, Rocque said.

She pointed out the 94 human victims who have died from the disease since 2003 were infected while handling diseased poultry. That's a small number when compared to the 36,000 people who die in the U.S. annually from current strains of the flu.

"It's like trying to predict a 100-year storm," she said. "There are a lot of things that need to happen. It's not a certainty."

Standard precautions are enough to protect yourself, said Louisa Castrodale, a state epidemiologist. That means washing hands often and cooking game birds thoroughly.

To report dead birds, call Fish and Game in Fairbanks at 459-7206; or Fish and Wildlife in Anchorage at (907) 786-3309.

Alaska Division of Epidemiology Influenza information page: http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/id/influenza/fluinfo.htm.

http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~3263985,00.html#

Please correct me if I'm wrong in my thinking

Aren't these mammals probably getting it from eating raw infected birds--like the tigers last year

Aren't we told that if we deal with raw infected birds, chances are we'd get it too, because that's the way most of the infected people have gotten it

Then how is it that it's "adapting" and more threatening to us because it's infected these mammals

Aren't we seeing more mammals because the infected bird populations are moving and are more availabe for more mammals to eat

Is it because the more mammals its in, the more chances for the last mutation easily h2h?

thanks

Wow, this is just great! I was reading the e-book highlighted in this thread by the bird flu expert from Australia where he was saying to avoid Elderberry Juice/ Sambucal. I have stocked up heavily on this hoping it would help to ease this flu, but he says it could make it worse. I guess no one knows what will really work. Spent a lot of money for nothing.

FloridaGirl said:

Wow, this is just great! I was reading the e-book highlighted in this thread by the bird flu expert from Australia where he was saying to avoid Elderberry Juice/ Sambucal. I have stocked up heavily on this hoping it would help to ease this flu, but he says it could make it worse. I guess no one knows what will really work. Spent a lot of money for nothing.

Click to expand...

That's interesting... I've seen a lot of positive stuff on Sambucol. This winter, I've kept some in my desk at work and when people around me get sick, I do a spoonful and so far (knock on wood) have not been sick.

FG, did the author refer to Sambucol/Elderberry in respect to cyclonic storms?

Thats strange Poland is not on the list , most of the countries around it are . Blessed maybe .. Amen
scrapman...

Thats strange Poland is not on the list , most of the countries around it are

Click to expand...

Poland confirms third case of deadly H5N1 bird flu​

http://english.people.com.cn/200603/08/eng20060308_248805.html

A third wild swan had tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, a Polish laboratory said on Tuesday.

The swan was found dead Saturday in Torun, about 200 kms northwest of Warsaw.

Tadeusz Wijaszka, head of the Polish laboratory said tests showed "We have a third case of H5N1."

"H5N1 was detected in a third swan," Wijaszka said.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu was also detected in two dead swans in Torun on Monday.

Poland has sent samples to a European Union laboratory for further tests.

Another opportunity to 'read between the lines'....

U.K. insurers pull racehorse cover for bird flu​

March 09 12:28:00, 2006

LONDON (Reuters)—U.K. insurance underwriters are refusing to cover thoroughbred horses against bird flu, for fear that an epidemic among horses could potentially cost them tens of millions of pounds.

Bloodstock underwriters at Lloyd's of London, who insure racing and competition horses, are introducing exclusions to their policies to protect themselves against claims if thoroughbred horses die from a mutated version of bird flu.

Although the virulent H5N1 bird flu has so far affected mainly only poultry, there are fears that it could mutate into a form that could be passed between other animals and humans, sparking a worldwide pandemic.

Though insurers say they see little overall impact on their balance sheets from such a pandemic, bloodstock underwriters fear potentially crippling claims because many top thoroughbreds are heavily insured. Lloyd's underwriters have insured horses for up to $35 million.

The situation in the bloodstock industry is also complicated by the fact that thoroughbred horses frequently travel across the world to race and to breed.

"We need to know what our potential exposure is in a particular area and at the moment we don't know that, because (the horses) are moving about all the time ... (so) we decided to add an exclusion," said Julian Lloyd, bloodstock underwriter at insurer Hiscox P.L.C.

"Potentially (a mutated virus) could cost us quite a bit of money and we're having to work out how to give the best type of cover to our clients without possibly putting ourselves out of business," Mr. Lloyd said.

Bloodstock underwriters are working on the assumption that any mutation of the bird flu virus that could infect horses would not occur before 2007, if at all, Mr. Lloyd said.

"Our view is that we aren't doing the client base any harm for the moment by doing this," said Mr. Lloyd.

Insurers are likely to offer horse and stud farm owners bird flu cover in the future, Mr. Lloyd said, but as a separate policy for which clients would have to pay extra.

http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=7355

Originally Posted by FloridaGirl
Wow, this is just great! I was reading the e-book highlighted in this thread by the bird flu expert from Australia where he was saying to avoid Elderberry Juice/ Sambucal. I have stocked up heavily on this hoping it would help to ease this flu, but he says it could make it worse. I guess no one knows what will really work. Spent a lot of money for nothing.

Click to expand...

Please see The thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=187026 and http://www.israel21c.com/bin/en.jsp?enScript=PrintVersion.jsp&enDispWho=Articles^l1209 .

Also Thread: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=183270 and http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=65394

A possible side-treatment to go in conjunction with lowering the viral load is to also lower or calm the cytokine response in your body. Scientific studies are saying that the BF raises these cytokines: TNF-a, IL-1, IL-6 and IL-8, and possibly MCP-1. These are the "bad" cytokines that are pro-inflammation and cause damage to your organs.

Check out a part of Tumeric-Curcumin, for lowering or calming cytokine response in your body. Curcumin is a naturally occurring substance found in the root of Curcuma longa, Tumeric. Curcumin is known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Links for info on Curcumin (Tumeric) :

Piperine multiplies the strength of many supplements and drugs:
http://www.delano.com/Articles/piperine-multiplies.html

Information on Curcumin from the Linus Pauling Institute:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/curcumin/index.html

Studies Done on Curcumin:
http://www.herbmed.org/Herbs/Herb9.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...d&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9619120&query_hl=54

http://www.med-owl.com/health/H5N1-Virus-Therapy.html

and the thread at: http://www.curevents.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38166&page=1&pp=40&highlight=curcumin

I wonder if you administer Sambucol at the onset of illness and counter it with Tumeric and Vitamin C if that might help? It is all a guessing game. I would hate to know that I helped speed the demise of my loved one by giving the wrong meds.

Vere My Sone:

Is it because the more mammals its in, the more chances for the last mutation easily h2h?

Click to expand...

Yes. The further this thing spreads, the more species it infects, the more chances it has to change and become a human infection.

If its not your pet, how do you tell when a wild bird is sick?

The reason I ask is that the last two mornings before I've gone to work there has been a dove sitting on the sidewalk at the bottom of my driveway. Same spot both mornings and didn't want to move. Acted like it was sittng on its nest or something. I almost hit it yesterday. Had to practically stop for it this morning before it would fly away. Is this a sick bird or just a crazy bird?

Also,

A couple of weeks ago after one of our only semi-moderate snowfalls I found a dead bird laying on top of the snow. It was intact, meaning that a cat hadn't got it or anything. I picked it up with a stick and threw it in the dumpster. The next day my daughter found another one, intact. She wanted to bury it so I picked it up with a baggie and then put it in a paper sack and we buried it in the snow bank. The snow bank is almost gone so its time to throw the sack in the trash before my girl sees it.

Should I call someone?

Truckers... & BF

Food transporters prepare for Avian Flu​

Mar 9, 2006 3:57 PM

The Agricultural and Food Transporters Conference (ATFC) of the American Trucking Assns. recently established an Avian Flu Task Force to help prepare the trucking industry for the possibility of an influenza pandemic.

“The Task Force was mobilized to map out industry scenarios and to keep abreast of federal, state, local, community and business planning initiatives to deal with a potential pandemic,” said AFTC Executive Director, Fletcher R. Hall. “It will focus on issues as they relate to trucking in general and the movement of agricultural and food products by truck in particular.

“A bird flu outbreak by any measure is of highest importance to ag transporters given that over 87% of all meat and poultry moves by truck across the United States each day,” Hall continued.

The Task Force will coordinate with other agencies and disseminate information to motor carriers, particularly commercial transporters of food and agricultural commodities.

"The Task Force will address this potential pandemic, or any degree of outbreak, in terms of industry preparedness, incident planning, and the development of contingency processes, industry communications and information," Hall said.

http://fleetowner.com/news/ata_agricultural_food_transporters_conference_avian_bird_flu_030906/

bored at work said:

If its not your pet, how do you tell when a wild bird is sick?

The reason I ask is that the last two mornings before I've gone to work there has been a dove sitting on the sidewalk at the bottom of my driveway. Same spot both mornings and didn't want to move. Acted like it was sittng on its nest or something. I almost hit it yesterday. Had to practically stop for it this morning before it would fly away. Is this a sick bird or just a crazy bird?

Also,

A couple of weeks ago after one of our only semi-moderate snowfalls I found a dead bird laying on top of the snow. It was intact, meaning that a cat hadn't got it or anything. I picked it up with a stick and threw it in the dumpster. The next day my daughter found another one, intact. She wanted to bury it so I picked it up with a baggie and then put it in a paper sack and we buried it in the snow bank. The snow bank is almost gone so its time to throw the sack in the trash before my girl sees it.

Should I call someone?

Click to expand...

BAW: check this website out....it has a number to report sick or dead birds: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/birdbiosecurity/hpai.html

Thanks New Freedom. At risk of looking like a paranoid doomer I'm gonna call. I'll post what happens . . .

bored at work said:

Thanks New Freedom. At risk of looking like a paranoid doomer I'm gonna call. I'll post what happens . . .

Click to expand...

Let me know what happens?

New Freedom said:

Let me know what happens?

Click to expand...

OK. I got a call back from a Dr. in Madison. She pretty much dismissed the dove as "that will happen during this time of year due to starvation". I'm still gonna take a pic tommorow if it happens again and file it under freaky.

She's calling around to her peeps this afternoon and evening. She mentioned west nile. She asked me to push it deeper into the snow and would call me back regardless to let me know what to do with the thing. She better hurry 'cause its raining right now and it's gonna get into the 50 tomorrow . . . news at 11:00

bored at work said:

If its not your pet, how do you tell when a wild bird is sick?

The reason I ask is that the last two mornings before I've gone to work there has been a dove sitting on the sidewalk at the bottom of my driveway. Same spot both mornings and didn't want to move. Acted like it was sittng on its nest or something. I almost hit it yesterday. Had to practically stop for it this morning before it would fly away. Is this a sick bird or just a crazy bird?

Also,

A couple of weeks ago after one of our only semi-moderate snowfalls I found a dead bird laying on top of the snow. It was intact, meaning that a cat hadn't got it or anything. I picked it up with a stick and threw it in the dumpster. The next day my daughter found another one, intact. She wanted to bury it so I picked it up with a baggie and then put it in a paper sack and we buried it in the snow bank. The snow bank is almost gone so its time to throw the sack in the trash before my girl sees it.

Should I call someone?

Click to expand...

BAW, ya know, there are enough scavangers, that dead meat does not go untouched very long... that is if it's not diseased... then again, diseased animals, are rarely eaten by other animals... they just seem to know... So, all that to say, that if these dead birds, go untouched by other animals, then ya might seriously want to make a couple of calls... keep us posted.

OK. I rcvd calls this morning from the WI DNR and they told me that the birds probably died from contaminated bird feeders. People not cleaning them out or something this time of year. They told me that they are more concerned with sick water foul and it was ok to throw it away. So, this bird just said hello to the dumpster.

End of story