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Deadly Version of Bird Flu Found in Romania
CMan0 writes "The BBC reports that a deadly version of the bird flu has been found in Romania. Several ducks and chickens have died on a farm in Romania this month of the disease, it has been confirmed. It's mentioned that the disease is spreading very rapidly, as the last known location of the disease was Siberia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan in August and the 1st of October in Turkey." From the article: "People appear dazed by what is happening, but since it was confirmed that this is the strain of the bird flu virus found in Asia, they have begun co-operating closely with officials sent to collect their birds, our correspondent says. Turkey has already reported the discovery of the lethal strain of the virus among birds in the west of the country. The EU has banned imports of live birds and poultry products from Romania and Turkey. EU veterinary experts said on Friday that the bird flu outbreak did not represent a risk to the general public 'at present'."
Having the farmers hiding their birds from the government isn't helping. They're trying to protect their property, but in the end they'll end up causing many more to die.
Also, with migratory ducks and swallows (of the laden variety), we're going to see this all over europe in the coming weeks.
Jerry
http://www.cyvin.org/
This response in Europe can be eqated to the little dance that boxers and wrestlers always do before a fight, just circling around, testing each other, somewhat afraid to hit the other.
So, if we don't hit the opponent, to the tune of billions of dollars of fast-track pharmaceutical research, and immediate and strict quarantines, we are going to get hit first, and it will cost us dearly.
These bloody poultry farmers, solely financially motivated, need to be brought down off their high horses, and realize that this isn't Mad Cow.
I am deeply saddened to see this comment coming from someone who has invested himself in higher education. Perhaps before they fill your head with all that troubling knowledge they should encourage skeptical thought?
There are much more devestating agents that would appeal to those that wanted to strike a civilian population. Do not let your paranoia trump your common sense. The evil-brown-people do not want to eat your babies.
(a) no surprises yet - you can't stop migrating birds - especially during migration season; /. is the place you're finally hearing about this - we need to talk.
(b) if
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
There have always been famines, tsunamis, floods and earthquakes in any given year. Very convenient for those that think the end is near. They always think the end is near. The end has never been near. The Bible is just an early example of a news outlet that wants eyeballs. And if you want eyeballs, if it bleeds it leads. The bird flu is a big problem, but I think the threat to humans is over-hyped by the media. Remember all those stories last year during the vaccine shortage that had all those geezers in long lines? How did that hype-fest turn out?
Unless you are a poultry worker or otherwise handle wild fowl you are not at risk. This disease is spread bird to man but not man to man.
Not yet. But what's keeping the scientists and politicians across Europe awake at night is the possibility that someone already infected with human influenza will contract H5N1 and it will mutate. The message we're getting from the scientific community over here in Europe is that it's not a case of if, but when. Its being taken so seriously that here in the UK plans are already being explored by Government on what to do when the first cases of human to human transmitted H5N1 arrives. Depending on how fast the virus spreads and how fast we do or don't react to it, the death toll could be anywhere between 50,000 to 750,000 people. Here's another BBC Article on the subject, published just today !!
Not only can't many of these farmers survive without their livestock, they probably can't be replaced. At best, they'll be replaced with the genetic freaks that are common in commercial agriculture in the industrialized world. At worst, most of the farmers will go out of business and be forced into cities and factories, to be replaced by a large agribusiness concern.
So-called "heirloom" breeds, animals well-suited for small farms because of their survival instincts and ability to reproduce, are quickly becoming a thing of the past. And it's more than just economics that is the cause.
The developed world is waging agricultural warfare on the developing world. One of the first targets in Iraq (accidentally of course) was a seed bank, containing thousands of species of irreplacabale genetic material, the lifeblood of agricultural progress and a threat to the manufactured livestock of agribusiness and rising biotech companies. Sadly, it wouldn't surprise me if the "bird flu" crisis were as manufactured as the reasons for the Iraq war.
Of course, it's not that these unique agricultural products can't be re-discovered, with the help of big genetics corporations of course. But those corporations certainly won't recover a genetic trait or a unique species without a licensing agreement, and yearly fees. Thus, the small farm is destroyed, by hook or by crook, and its operators forced either into urban life or having their profits perpetually taxed away by agribusiness.
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"