Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching

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“The large concentration of animals farmed in overcrowded conditions in industrial batteries (several hundreds or even several thousands of individuals in a confined space), provides an extremely infectious context through contact with numerous pathogens, as opposed to natural extensive or semi-extensive breeding conditions ... The numbers and density in which animals are bred result in overcrowded conditions, which, among other things, stress the animals, modify their metabolic performances, weaken their immune system, and above all maintain a high risk of hyperinfection by massive infectious loads ... Where a small infectious dose would naturally be controlled by a normal immune system, there is no chance, even for an efficient immune system, of controlling huge infectious doses which ‘saturate’ defense effector mechanisms and ‘overflow’ the animals’ immune mechanisms ... ”

In “The World Health Report 2007,” the WHO reiterated that an influenza pandemic currently poses the greatest threat to international public health and that the “question of a pandemic of influenza from this virus [H5N1] or another avian influenza virus is still a matter of when, not if.”

The Asian scientists offer a potential solution: “Possible alternatives that would reduce the risks of contact could, for instance, include replacing large industrial units with several smaller-scale production units containing lower densities of animals. In other words, this means favoring humane treatment and product quality over industrial yield. There are many advantages to this: animals would be less stressed and thus more resistant to infectious aggressions; contact between individuals would be less intense, which would reduce infection rates since infectious doses would be lower.”

The FAO report “Industrial Livestock Production and Global Health Risks” is available here. Also see The Potential Role of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in Infectious Disease Epidemics and Antibiotic Resistance. 

Surviving the Next Pandemic

In the 1918 flu pandemic, a highly infectious bird flu virus emerged and killed 50 to 100 million people. Though that strain died out, many experts are worried that the bird flu virus could again mutate and cause another pandemic.

Pandemic flu is spread just like the seasonal flu: by breathing in respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs near you; or by touching an object contaminated by respiratory secretions (a doorknob for example, that was previously touched by someone coughing into his/her hand) and then touching one’s face — eyes, nose or mouth — before first washing or sanitizing hands. (See Natural, Effective Remedies for Colds & Flu for more on protecting yourself.) Both exposures require direct or indirect contact with infected persons, and so the current federal strategy recommends social distancing methods, such as voluntary home quarantine.

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