H5N1 Bird Flu

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Anybody concerned about the bird flu virus? I saw the BirdFluBook.com website but haven't read it yet. Something about "backyard chickens are the solution, not the problem". I dont want to be blamed for H1N1 swine flu converting to the deadlier H5N1 bird flu RIGHT HERE IN MY BACKYARD! EEEEK!

 

[IggiMom]

I am not even concerned about the Swine flue. I think it is a tempest in a teapot; possibly an effort by the administration to create a crisis and then save us from it.

200+ cases in the US? Heck, I'll bet there are more than that of active tuberculosis, which is really dangerous.

So far as I am aware there are no avian flue cases in the U.S. at all now.

Although you are correct, that won't stop people from blaming chickens for it.
Sheesh.

Should the Swine flue get going, or indeed any other strain of influenza, I think that it should be possible to stay healthy by staying out of crowds, using wipes like crazy, for example EVERY time you use a shopping cart (I already do this), and using good hand washing, and if things got REALLY bad, using masks.

Every cloud has a silver lining. Because of the Swine Flue in Mexico, airplane tickets to Mexico are REALLY REALLY cheap, and my daughter and husband are going to honeymoon in Mexico instead of the Bahamas and save a bunch of money! Um...not in Mexico City.

 

[Suburban chick farmer 09]

Quote:
Wow, please tell me you don't believe this. Let's take the politics to another site.

 

[IggiMom]

You are right and I apologize. No more politics.

That said, I do think that the swine flu thing is being blown out of proportion.

Again, as a comparison between the 200+ cases in the US, there were 13,779 cases of TB in 2006. 1/3 of the world's population are infected with tuberculosis. It is the leading cause of death in those people with HIV.

I could be wrong, but I do not think there has ever been a case of the Avian flu in the US, although it is prevalent in Thailand and other Asian countries. I think it is probably reasonable to really restrict birds being brought into this country. Avian flu is not, I think, ever transmitted from person to person, at least not yet unless it would mutate.

I truly hope that the fear of this disease will not cause our ability to ship and buy chickens and other poultry.

Here in West Virginia, we can no longer buy or sell poultry at a public sale. This is upsetting and sad.

Again, I humbly take back my political comment of my previous post and hope it will be overlooked.

The topic of Avian flu, though, is certainly an upsetting one.

 

[GracefulBantams]

Even the news stations (who believes them anyway!) are now saying that "perhaps we overreacted". The fact is that Swine Flu or Bird Flu or whatever it is this time might be something to worry about, but so is the Flu itslef! Just the basic Flu kills thousands of people each year!
And I'm not even going to begin listing all the countless diseases that kill many more people than the "new" Flu ever will!

 

[digginchicks]

I dont think that the swine flue is even as bad as our regular yearly flu. It would be nice if they had a bunch of cures already made up though lol

 

[Imp]

Didn't everyone die from bird flu or SARS? Who's left?
Nearly 40,000 people a year die from the flu.
Not concerned at all.

Imp-I am worried about the silkie threat

 

[sparkles2307]

I dont worry too much, we are almost capable of being fully self sufficient if things ever got terribly bad. After this summer I think we will be ready for just about whatever they throw at us!
They called it Swine Flu, but it didnt come from eating pork...people just overreact before they read past the headlines.

 

[sparkles2307]

And as far as I recall there were several survivors of SARS

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Really? They best get together and start repopulating Earth. Like Now!

Imp

We recently had 1 of the 3 swine flu deaths in the county just north of us. I had some of my staff (in the hospital) ask if the hospital would close.

???- I just laughed and said hospitals don't close because of sick people. We just get busy.