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VeggieGlobal gives you advice
on what you should and should NOT do in a bird flu crisis:
Bird Flu Precautions (updated
mid 2007)
See
also this latest statement regarding Britain's H5N1 Outbreak
With veterinary organizations giving
out feeble and irrational advice, and an ignorant public whipping
themselves into a panic-frenzy, you are advised to take the following,
more sensible precautions when dealing with animal-based epidemics
such as bird flu:
CATS AS CARRIERS?
Firstly, based on various television news interviews, veterinary
advisors generally say that cats getting bird flu from infected
birds is remote. Yes, it is remote, as long as cat owners use common-sense.
As one veterinary advisor interviewed on UK's Channel 4 news naively
suggested, it would only be if a hungry cat came across a carcass
of an infected bird and ate it that it may be at risk. Such comment
fails to consider that 300 million wild birds are caught by well-fed
cats each year in the UK alone. So common sense dictates that you
keep an eye on your cat when it's outside and try an discourage
him or her from stalking birds whenever possible.
If your cat is notorious for catching birds you are advised to keep
him or her inside when there is a bird flu alert in your area. Also
be aware that rats can eat infected birds and may possibly carry
the infection (although it appears that there is no proof that rats
have yet become infected).
Prevent your dog as well as your cat from catching rats. Also dispose
of rat carcasses responsibly as well as birds of course.
These are the most likely links of cross-infection when dealing
with bird flu, so common-sense steps should be taken to help protect
your pets.
Even so, with the million to one chance of having an infected bird
in your garden, the chances that your cat will catch an infected
bird is extremely low.
Its also worth noting that recent
research shows that feral pigeons pose no more health risks to humans
than most other animals which we live in close proximity with. The
risk of catching any kind of disease from pigeons is very low. In
addition to this, even if your cat did catch a flu-infected bird,
the chances of he or she catching bird flu and dying from it are
remote, and the chances of you catching the disease from garden
birds or cats, is next to zero. You are probably a 100 times more
likely to win the lotto than catch the virus in this way.
The only way we can become infected by the H51N virus between humans
is if the virus mutates to a form which enables it transmit from
one human and another. The form of H51N in existence at the moment
is only easily transmittable between birds crammed into confined
places by humans ... such as those in the Bernard Mathews incident
in early 2007.
SENSIBLE BEHAVIOUR
The important message here is not to panic and leave the harmless
animals alone!
The most likely cross-contamination between bird and human - as
have been in past cases - is through direct handling of infected
poultry. It is through sheer ignorance that local authorities in
some countries have been taking mad actions by killing wild birds
and animals as well as stray cats and dogs in public parks and woodland
areas, because they think these animals will spread bird flu.
So ... the idea that killing stray cats, dogs, wild birds and woodland
animals to stop the spread of bird flu and cross-contamination is
ludicrous, and there's absolutely no reason to destroy wild-birds
or birds nests, or to remove bird boxes.
For example, the majority of cats which have already caught bird
flu have survived it. This is an important point, because for any
species to survive disease, an immunity in the species has to be
built up. If some animals die then that is part of the natural course.
Those who survive, pass on the immunity to their offspring and therefore
the disease is naturally minimized or even eradicated completely.
In other words, new generations of animals will have natural immunity.
But by killing healthy birds and animals (and stray cats) now to
try and stop bird flu, we are also killing those animals (being
the majority) which have the natural antibodies to fight the disease.
This destructive, human interference by killing healthy animals
means that the virus would continue to infect species that would
otherwise naturally become immune to the disease. The long term
consequences of our interference are disastrous, because it means
that all species, including humans will continue to be threatened
by a disease that can't self-iradicate. If a disease in the natural
world is left alone it will burn itself out in due course. It is
only because of human interference and the crazy actions of cramming
thousands of birds into confined spaces that we are digging our
own grave, by inviting the disease to establish such potential contact
with humans. The risk of you catching bird flu from an infected
migratory wild bird feeding from your bird table are next to zero.
The risk of you catching bird flu from a passing lorry full of 5,000
infected poultry carcasses from a battery farm are likely to be
far, far higher.
DO NOT STOP FEEDING WILD BIRDS
It is important that you continue to feed birds in your garden.
If you don't, birds will get hungry and this only makes matters
worse, as weaker birds may be more prone to falling ill from disease.
But there is one safety precaution you can take. Instead of leaving
bird food grouped together on a single bird table it's wise to spread
feed around the garden so that visiting birds are not forced into
such close contact with each other.
Also, the more food you leave out the less likely birds will fight
with each other to win their dinner. So remember, spreading out
the feeding area in your garden to enable birds to keep out of each
other's space will greatly help to keep any potential viruses at
bay.
FINALLY
As far as pets are concerned, all you need to do is keep an eye
on them until a vaccination becomes available. A vaccination will
also protect humans from bird flu while animals in the wild will
go through a "natural course of selection" - the survival
of the fittest. Although its unlikely that many wild animals will
actually die from bird flu, remember that the natural progression
of any disease helps strengthen the survival of species in the long
term. Please remember that by destroying healthy animals (as humans
tend to do in their blind panic), this will serve no practical purpose
whatsoever or gain you any protection. Reflect on this information
and use your common sense.
More information and a closer look
at the history and development of cross-infecting diseases below.
For more info on Companion Animal
Care click
here
If a potentially dangerous
virus carried by birds has been reported in your area and you have
a garden and pets:
- Do NOT take destructive action
against any wild birds, nests or other wild animals.
- Do NOT remove nesting boxes.
- If you find a dead bird or any
other dead animal in your garden, take the following steps:
Put on rubber gloves, rubber boots and protect your nose and mouth
with a mask. Dig a deep hole (around 70cm), pick the bird / animal
carcass up carefully with a shovel - keeping it at a distance
- and bury it in the hole. Disinfect shovel, gloves, boots (including
soles) and anything else that has come into near contact with
the dead creature. (Take advice from your local council regarding
the proper disposal of disinfected rubber gloves etc.)
REMEMBER, the bird or animal may not have even been infected ...
this is just sensible precaution to stop the spread of any potential
virus in your neighbourhood.
- Keep an eye on your cat when let
out into the garden. If prone to catching birds, keep your cat
indoors with a litter tray.
- Keep dogs on a lead if they are
prone to catching rats etc.
Now read on to learn the background
of diseases and the causes of mutational viruses.
The "Stupid" Machine
Irrational behaviour in the event
of a viral outbreak is one of those classsic dumbing-down traits
of all humanity.
As fear-induced adrenaline runs high, no thanks to rumour, gossip
and headlines, it's everyone for themselves; from governments dishing
out slapdash solutions and misguided advice, right down to the mindless
actions of the most foolish individuals.
Unfortunately, chaos reigns.
In fact, most of us can be held responsible for initiating hysteria
or acting on bad advice, because panicking is what we do best.
BSE, SARS, Avian Flu (bird flu) ...
and Aids; these are words that conjure up nightmare scenarios of
death and global devastation.
Who is to blame for the mutation, spread and mismanagement of these
infections in the first place? Iif you think it's animals, then
you are wrong.
In all cases it's we humans; A
group of hominids unable to act rationally in the event of a viral
threat to its own species. Or else, a supposedly intelligent but
grossly self-serving society that has created what you might call
the environmental mechanism of perpetual cause-and-ill-effect
... or The Stupid Machine.
Inside our Stupid Machine there's a mass-destruction button labelled
"Blame it on the Animals", and we'll use it without question.
"Kill all the animals ... that'll solve it!"
This is in fact the most ignorant move that humanity could make.
Whether you are a veggie or
a meat-eater, the viewpoints and advice in this article offer a
pragmatic outlook: How rationality should be nurtured and stupidity
held firmly at bay.
From the beginning of life on earth,
all species have been prone to disease. As generations have evolved
over millennia, many potentially damaging viruses have actually
become less or even completely harmless.
Why?
Natural selection is the simple answer.
While one animal or human may have died from disease, others survived
because they carried the necessary antibodies to fight the virus.
The survivors then passed on their virus-resistant genes to their
offspring. And this is how natural immunity to diseases we didn't
even know existed developed over time.
So today there are hundreds of viruses circulating across the planet
- even hanging around in the air we breath. We are now immune to
a lot of them, but 10,000 years ago - or even just hundreds of years
ago, some of these same viruses could have harmed us, even fatally.
These viruses were no different then than they are now, but in the
early days we hadn't developed a natural defence or immunity against
them. Then, people would die of a contagious virus while others
lived, who were in-turn building up a natural resistance to the
virus to pass on to future, healthier generations. Biologists today
may not even be able to determine what viruses may have threatened
our health over such long time-spans, i.e. what we were resistant
to, and what killed us thousands of years ago could be anybody's
guess.
Even by the early 20th century there were still some viruses circulating
that were killing or causing irreparable damage to humans. But as
science and medicine during that century blossomed, more and more
vaccines became available. By giving a person (or an animal) a very
mild micro-version of a disease, usually via injection, this triggers
off an immunity response. This immunity ("memory") that
stays in your body is what you need to resist the disease if you
ever came into contact with it for real.
And so vaccination became the medical revolution of modern society,
stopping people from developing a host of common, and some deadly
diseases, many which today are consigned to history.
The introduction of the vaccine changed the way in which humanity
struggled to win over contagious infection. Instead, humans were
now in control of their own destiny in the battle against many diseases.
Although a triumph in the short-term, vaccinations meant that humans
(and even domestic animals) were inadvertently no longer able to
build-up natural resistance to viruses over a long, "evolutionary"
period. We had created a prevention through science, but it now
meant that we would forevermore be dependent on finding biological
solutions in the laboratory to stop us catching diseases; vaccines
could now prevent the spread of infection within a scientist's own
life-span, instead of waiting to build up natural immunity over
generations.
The important thing to remember is that a vaccine prevents the disease
from developing inside us - In most cases it doesn't mean the virus
has disappeared off the face of the earth. For example, there are
some diseases which have recently made a comeback, such as tuberculosis.
A BCG vaccination can stop humans from developing tuberculosis,
but slack social welfare programs and bad parenting in some major
cities means that more and more children are not being vaccinated.
This has meant that a disease, which had been almost completely
eradicated by the 1970's, is now nearing epidemic proportions in
some parts of the world. Even polio, which had almost been confined
to history has re-established itself in many poor countries.
The man-made rise and rise
of infectious disease
But while biologists are battling
with the forces of nature as they try to eradicate disease, humans
are at the same time creating far more dangerous diseases that would
ever have occurred in the natural world, and we are not talking
about biological warefare either!
Enter bird flu.
Influenza, or flu affects many species and has done so throughout
the evolution of life. For example we are used to hearing of dog
and cat flu, and off course human flu. Now we are getting used to
the term "Avian flu" or "bird flu". And while
many strains of flu can exist in the wild without any dramatic risk
of causing epidemic or even pandemic outbreaks, the type of flu
which is "condensed" no thanks to humans cramming birds
and animals into confined spaces, causes strengthening variants
of the virus and therefore potential danger to humans.
Before we go on, let's just to turn the tables around for a minute;
a pet hamster can catch human flu and die from it. When zoologists
study groups of animals in remote parts of the wild - they will
never get too close in case they transmit human diseases to the
group.
Back to bird flu.
All scientific research suggests that historically, human flu was
a variant generated from an originally harmless strain of bird flu,
which then developed a cross-infectious strain through domestic
foul confined - by humans - in small spaces. In this chain of flu
variants, crossing over between domestic animals, it appears that
pigs were cross-carriers which could also pass it on to humans.
This is because pigs have biological similarities to humans, so
the jump was a lot easier to establish.
It's only when densely packed groups of domestic poultry, are exposed
to a strain of wild bird flu that things can get out of control.
It's not the original strain of wild-bird flu virus that is "potentially"
fatal to humans, but the strain generated by domestic foul (and
other animals) which have been squeezed together in confined spaces
by humans. This entirely unnatural "living arrangement"
then causes a dangerous mutation of the strain, which, in turn can
infect wild-birds. Hence, the "man-made" vicious circle.
So to recap on this, mutations of a flu virus that crosses species
is initially caused by birds and animals being kept in very confined
spaces - and with different species mixed together, the virus strengthens
as it mutates, enabling it to jump species.
Obviously, cramming birds and animals into close proximity with
each other is a very unnatural arrangement - and doing so with different
species as well makes matters infinitely worse. It's no wonder why
such a virus can be so easily passed on and adapt so quickly, through
multiple contamination when birds and animals are trapped in tiny
spaces.
These flu viruses begin in China and South-east Asia, who are notorious
for raising livestock in minute spaces and in filthy conditions.
Sellers then squeeze hundreds of live birds and animals into tiny
cages and take them to markets where they stay ... thousands of
cages piled on top of each other. What would normally be a fairly
harmless virus in the wild then becomes a powerfully adaptive disease,
eventually passing over to humans who are in close contact with
the animals. Within months, flu viruses will have travelled the
world.
Different strains of flu do the rounds each year, while medical
researchers try to beat each strain with the appropriate flu vaccination,
which may or may not be effective.
In 2003 a particularly dangerous strain
of bird flu began to spread from the far east, eventually arriving
in Europe by 2006. Similar to a bird flu that killed millions of
people in 1918 this new "dangerous-to-other animals-and-potentially-humans"
strain called H5N1 is causing panic, mainly through ignorance and
people's irrational way in which to cope with it. In fact at the
time of writing, H5N1 has still not been passed from one person
to another. By early February 2007 a massive outbreak of the deadly
H5N1 variant had killed thousands of turkeys in a Bernard Mathews
battery farm in Suffolk, England. A generally useless UK government
body called DEFRA swung into action and quickly disposed of all
remaining 150,000 birds inside the huge, crammed turkey sheds. In
their infinite wisdom, DEFRA then had the virus ridden carcasses
transported 200 miles across the UK to be incinerated, further increasing
the risk of spreading the infection due to insufficiently sealed
/ decontaminated lorries. (Governments everywhere think that just
by cleaning tyres on a truck, this will be enough to stop the spread
of disease!) This intense (but very predictable) outbreak in a high
density poultry farm in the West simply shows that not just China,
but anywhere in the world where birds/animals are crammed into confined
spaces in large numbers, disease will spread rapidly.
While many still continue to inhumanely cram their domestic fowl
into confined spaces and carry on their lives, regardless of the
lethal cocktail of disease they have created, others (particularly
governments with short-sighted methods of dealing with the crisis)
dish out misinformation and mixed up methods in how to deal with
the spreading problem.
Bird flu however does not recognize country borders ... and the
way it is handled should be based on a global common-sense approach.
But that's not how most humans think, and with diversified governments
unable to establish rational and humane solutions, animals in particular
look like they will always be used as the scapegoat in such situations.
But as you may determine from this article, killing healthy animals
is the most destabilizing approach any authority or individual can
take.
SARS is a virus which was also "created" through extreme
cross-contamination in bird /animal markets and farms in the far
east. The deadly version of "Avian Flu" was formed just
in this way. To stop these dangerous diseases from continually being
created and spread so virulently in the first place it should be
stamped out at its source. And that means stopping the cramped farming
techniques in the far east and Africa as well as banning the transport
of live poultry and animals to be displayed in filthy disease-riddled
markets.
More on the man-made rise
and rise of infectious disease - including foot and mouth
Let's now go back to 2000 and the
Foot and Mouth crisis in the UK.
Any animal friendly person will remember how the entire handling
of the situation was an insane, criminal sham right from the start.
Because of greedy, overzealous farmers and irrational government
orders, tens of thousands more animals were actually killed than
would have died naturally if the disease had been allowed to pass
through the farm animal chain without interference, whereby some
would have died but many would have survived and built up resistance
to pass on to the next generation. But instead, farmers grabbed
the opportunity to get rid of all their animals, because they had
quickly worked out that the financial compensation they would receive
from the government was far higher than the money they would normally
get selling their animals at market. There were even reports that
farmers were deliberately infecting their animals with Foot and
Mouth just so they could claim the compensation; This was done by
borrowing an infected cow or a sheep from an infected farm and bringing
it into contact with their own, otherwise healthy flock or herd.
And so, because no animal was left alive to pass any stronger, natural
immunity to its offspring, Foot and Mouth will return just as virulently,
to infect a new generation of animals sometime in the future ...
and farmers can look forward to another financial windfall.
And what about the reaction of the British public during all this?
A tear was shed by some as TV news showed thousands of animals burning
in huge pyres across the UK ... a typical emotional reaction by
a UK public who go dewy-eyed at the sight of a fluffy bunny on an
animal rescue program. But just a few months later in August 2001
British television reported that consumers where back in the butchers
to buy meat by the kilo… That's right ... the same British public
now had the audacity to pat themselves on the back as they rushed
to the shops to stock up on more and more meat. This, said the reports,
was apparently to "show support and sympathy for the (now much richer)
British meat farmer". One news report said that a supermarket chain
was requesting more lambs to be slaughtered to meet public demand.
On the internet, a UK website sprung up called "Pig Brother",
inviting the British to vote to kill a pig ... all in support of
British farmers.
This kind of jingoistic absurdity isn't just confined to the UK
when it comes to animal diseases affecting its international trade
and consumerism. During the bird flu epidemic in 2006, European
meat-eaters revel in imperious support of poultry farmers, (while
the farmers themselves look forward to profitable compensation!)
BSE ...
BSE, better known as Mad cow disease
is a variant of scabies normally found in sheep. In all cases and
variants of these incurable diseases, they were caused by animals
being fed "feed" made of the ground-up meat and bones
of their own species. It's now even suggested by scientists that
the human variant, CJD is caused by cattle been fed traces of crushed
human remains mixed up in the feed, (most animal feed was imported
from India where human material in the feed has been traced to corpses
disposed of in rivers, in accordance with Hindu funeral customs).
Therefore the CJD variant in humans was created by ourselves, inadvertently
adding traces of human remains to cattle feed, which has then been
transferred back to humans when eating beef. In all cases, cows,
sheep and humans have been feeding off the remains of their own
species, a process which is entirely unnatural, leading to terrible
consequences.
Note: There was an epidemic of a CJD variant in New Guinea called
Kuru where cannibalism was common place. Since cannibalism has disappeared,
so has Kuru.
Aids ...
There is still no absolute proof how
aids developed but most theories stem from some kind of simian based
transference, either by medicine made from the ground organs of
monkeys, sexual transference from monkeys, or eating them etc. Other
theories suggest that HIV may have been artificially created in
a laboratory from where the virus escaped. But wherever it came
from, it was induced by humans acting irresponsibly; playing with
science or using animals as a means to an end.
How can we get all this back into
sensible control? - What you can do to help.
In today's over-sterilized westernized
society, more and more humans are growing up with allergies and
with poor resistance to everyday infections. This is due to babies
and infants being overprotected from bacteria which they would have
otherwise normally come into contact with. It's now even suggested
that by regularly allowing an infant to crawl about in fields and
farm yards - and basically get its hands dirty - is the best possible
way to help the child build up a natural resistance to allergies
and infections for later life. This makes complete sense, and health
authorities should take heed of this advice and hammer it in to
overprotective parents.
By overprotecting ourselves to such extremes now, we are systematically
weakening our own species, and at the same time destroying others
who would otherwise build up their own resistance - if left alone.
Your mini-mission
Meanwhile, while farmers around the
world continue to pack together thousands of live birds and animals
into extremely confined areas ... whether indoors or outdoors, viruses
will continue to spread and mutate ... and worst of all, crossing
from one species to another. Therefore it is entirely up to people
to deal with the root of the problem - and that means stopping others
from treating animals in this crazy manner.
Even if it's just to protect yourself, you need to tell your neighbouring
farmer or smallholder to stop confining their animals in such a
way that triggers off these diseases in the first place. Farmers
must provide far more space for animals than they currently do.
Make sure that anyone you know who feeds "livestock" is
feeding them with a vegetarian diet. Chickens for example should
never be fed chicken (or any meat) amongst the feed that they are
given. Cows, foul, sheep, pigs etc. are all naturally vegetarian.
None of these animals should ever be fed meat. Remember, this is
what triggers off Scabies, BSE and CJD etc.)
Even if you don't live in the country, pass on this information
to others that do own farms etc. And whenever you visit countries
in the far east or Africa, spend some time trying to reason with
the local people about the cause and effect of keeping poulty and
animals in unsuitable conditions. Tell them how they can improve,
not only the welfare of their animals, but their own health, through
careful animal / bird management and handling.
Live transportation, exports and live animal markets must be stopped
for good, as this will also help limit the mutation and spread of
viruses in confined conditions.
Finally ... how do we reduce
the threat of animal diseases?
Habitual meat-eaters are continually
adding fuel to the fire, and the situation with the bird flu virus
at this time is a classic example. The simple solution is to stop
the consumption of poultry world-wide for at least two or three
years. Let the bird flu virus burn itself out, instead of creating
constant demand for bird-meat. If farmers are inclined to continue
farming millions of birds and therefore allowing the disease to
spread and mutate into more lethal variants, then the problem
will never completely go away.
So, the answer is simple ... Stop farming poultry in mass, cramped
conditions, and stop eating them ... it's common sense.
Surely, any dummy can work that out?
If you feel that this page has provided
you with useful information please support Looking-Glass and VeggieGlobal's
good-cause projects, campaigns and appeals with
... a donation - Thank you
Animal Diseases for
Dummies © 2006/7 - VeggieGlobal and Looking-Glass
See
also this latest statement regarding Britain's H5N1 Outbreak
More on BSE / CJD origins
at:
www.dailymail.co.uk
http://whyfiles.org/012mad_cow/6.html
Useful info on bird flu:
http://www.fmi.org/foodsafety/avian_flu.htm
http://www.fmi.org/foodsafety/Avian_Influenza.pdf
More on humane pigeon control
at:
http://www.duivenoverlast.nl
Aids:
Help to educate third world countries
about the importance of wearing condoms as well as abstinence to
help stop the spread of Aids:
http://www.avert.org/about.htm
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