Bird Flu - "Where are you?"

[greyfields]

The Spanish Flu of 1918 is genetically confirmed to be a direct predecessor to the H5N1 which is troubling everyone right now. Wasn't it 30 million who died? You may think that health care has improved since then; but flu is caused by a virus and to this day there are very few treatments for diseases caused by viruses.

 

[Beekissed]

I stand corrected! Wikipedia is such a wonderful thing, ain't it? I'm still not worried about keeping chickens.

 

[olivesmom]

My husband was a pilot for the news for a while. "The Media" reports on paper to an 8th grade level and television news may not even be that high. I believe very little of what is reported. It's not just about big drug companies. It is equally about selling advertising and filling up thenews hour with 30 second stories and headlines that will make people watch. And recently take note of how often you are told to go the the news stations webpage for "the full story" again to sell ad space.

As for the bird flu I know very little. I am new to chickens but as for getting worked up by something you hear on the evening news ...

Bests,
Charlotte

 

[cardigan99]

Here are the most recent H5N1 figures as reported by the World Healt Organization:

Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1) Reported to WHO

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2008_04_30/en/index.html

 

[Beekissed]

I like your sources, cardigan!

Very factual and clear-cut info.

 

[speckledhen]

Dave, which bator do you mean? The wooden one? Or the Fridge-a-Bator or the Cooler Bator, LOL? We pirated parts from the wooden Mega-Bator to build the Fridge-a-Bator so that other one is no more. Check out this thread for pics of both: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=43984

 

[Davaroo]

I guess it would have been your Mega Bator - didnt I coin that phrase? It was the purple one.
Anyway, I was keen on the humidity tray DH made up for that one.

 

[PAChickenChick]

It is very refreshing to me to see so many truly intelligent people in here! I try almost every day to convince the people I'm around that the media no longer deals with "News" and are now just a entertainment program peppered with some real information occasionally.

Yes, there are real cases of Bird Flu and it is a scary prospect, however much like Anthrax (which is also real) the chances of any of us causing an outbreak are extremely slim.

Every day that I'm in this forum I become happier and happier that I decided to take on the responsibility of raising chickens

 

[Davaroo]

Glad you did, too!

 

[dlhunicorn]

I am in The Netherlands and unfortunately there are still just as many outbreaks here in Europe as ever with last year a couple bad ones in England... In the winter We have to keep our birds under a roof (no free ranging unless a roof over it)...
for us it is a very real and present danger still.