Yet Another CDC Warning

[Deleted member 94844]

Say what you will about the CDC but after the past year and a half, my confidence in them has plummeted. I don't need a federal agency to tell me common sense things like washing your hands and don't kiss your chickens. Mass hysteria sells

Not going to fight you on that... their waffling and bogus guidance caused as much harm as the virus. And I’m still gonna cuddle the chickens

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't put animals up to my face and I wash my hands after handling chickens and their pooped-on equipment. Good, old common sense.

I don't need scaremongering from people who gain power from our fear.

 

[docteurshepherd]

The thing is that they post the same warning every year. Most people know the risks by now, I'm sure

I don't know, doesn't hurt anything. It's their job to try to make people aware of these things.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

I have been rubbing chickens on my face and kissing them sine I was 8.... not going to stop now.

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

Its a bureaucracy. One of the things they do is grow, by accumulating more power and influence to themselves, by puffing up their importance. They are aided by media - Fear sells. Tragedy sells. (Sex and violence also sell, but not relevant here) - and a populace seeking entertainment.

This a true thing, presented in deceptive format. It lacks context.

Yes, 43 states have reports of salmonella traced to backyard flocks. Yes, there have been 163 reports of illness, including 34 hospitalizations.

According to the same source (different page) , there are an estimated 1.35 MILLION infections, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths from Salmonella each year.

Context matters. The current outbreak represent just 0.128% of the total Salmonella hospitalizations expected this year. and 0.012% of the total expected infections in the US.

Does it benefit some number of people at the margins??? People who bought poultry last year and remain mostly ignorant of salmonella? Probably. Is the expense of the CDC tracking and reporting on this (and the media magnifying it in the public eye) worth the illnesses it might avoid, the possible deaths and hospitalizations? Maybe. That's a political discussion. Is the cost of this message, in people who might abandon a backyard flock out of fear, or similar irrational behaviors not considered? Also a political discussion. Might the message have tie-on affects, related to other illness avoided by the simple expediency of sanitation? Yes.

and to lighten the mood of this post, I present an amusing (to me) video with political overtones - don't watch it if you may be offended.

All we can do is educate ourselves, and make the best decisions we can with the information available, understanding that none of us get out of here alive - not acting has costs of its own. Life, while it lasts, is the only game at the table, one way or another, you've got to play the hands you are dealt.

I'm not really a conspiracy theorist, but when I see this kind of stuff specifically targeting back yard poultry keepers, I have to wonder if certain agri-business interests are involved.

 

[Deleted member 94844]

I have been rubbing chickens on my face and kissing them sine I was 8.... not going to stop now.

You mean like this?

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Yup!

 

[Cecisflock]

Let's hope nothing really happens

The only thing I would thing that would make a apilipse is chicna and their nuke factorys!

The fact that you couldn't spell any of that makes this 100x funnier

 

[heatherbeast]

Eh, they have a duty to remind people.

And yes, the concern is over both Salmonella and Camphylobacter jejuni illness. I caught a case of C. jejuni last year while being careless with corralling birds duringseveral days worth of thunderstorms and wound up laid up for 9 days of absolute liquid diarrhea misery. My intestinal lining was falling out during the first few days. As an adult, I was able to recover fine. That may not be the case with older adults and younger children.

For those of you willing to chat about your flocks, and to help reinforce the idea that YES hand hygiene is key here, CDC has a survey out asking backyard flock keepers basic demographic info, and if selected, asking for 90 minutes of your time to chatter with other keepers and a few of their epidemiologists to get a better feel for which people are at greatest risk (and how to help them stay healthy on top of hand-washing).

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BYPWestat

Check it out!

 

[L0rraine]

Eh, they have a duty to remind people.

And yes, the concern is over both Salmonella and Camphylobacter jejuni illness. I caught a case of C. jejuni last year while being careless with corralling birds duringseveral days worth of thunderstorms and wound up laid up for 9 days of absolute liquid diarrhea misery. My intestinal lining was falling out during the first few days. As an adult, I was able to recover fine. That may not be the case with older adults and younger children.

For those of you willing to chat about your flocks, and to help reinforce the idea that YES hand hygiene is key here, CDC has a survey out asking backyard flock keepers basic demographic info, and if selected, asking for 90 minutes of your time to chatter with other keepers and a few of their epidemiologists to get a better feel for which people are at greatest risk (and how to help them stay healthy on top of hand-washing).

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BYPWestat

Check it out!

Good share! I do appreciate reasoned approaches to issue (so few and far between these days ). I may try to find time to participate. Looks like they offer a bit of remuneration for incentive, and the window for participation goes on for some time.