bird flu

New to Science: the Tooth Fairy Bird - H5N1 vector

Submitted by Martin on Thu, 03/16/2006 - 19:27

NOTES ON A SPECIES NEW TO SCIENCE - THE TOOTH FAIRY BIRD
Martin Williams and Nial Moores

Surely one of the most startling of the flurry of new findings made during the spread of H5N1 avian influenza has been the discovery of the Tooth Fairy Bird – which we believe is the first bird species to have been initially described by virologists, and is remarkable for being able to survive and sustain and spread H5N1.

Experts on wild birds not major h5n1 carriers

Submitted by Martin on Sat, 12/10/2005 - 01:05

[b]David Melville (ornithologist) and K.F.

Bird flu vaccine less effective

Submitted by Martin Williams on Wed, 12/10/2008 - 21:59

From Time magazine:

Quote:
This week's outbreak is particularly alarming because some of the chickens killed by the virus appear to have been vaccinated against it, according to the government. Lo Wing-lok, president of the Hong Kong Medical Association and an expert on infectious disease, says that Hong Kong uses an older version of the H5 vaccine than mainland China, where there are more frequent outbreaks and farmers vaccinate poultry specifically against the H5N1 strain of the virus.

BirdFluIntro

Submitted by Martin Williams on Sat, 07/19/2008 - 01:06
in

Notions that migratory birds are responsible for spreading the New n Nasty H5N1 Bird Flu Variant around Asia are quackers (chiefly looking at 2003/2004 outbreaks)

[See also my page on info and links re bird flu, esp the New n Nasty H5N1 Variant; also, a forum thread on this site, on H5N1 avian flu and migratory birds: posts welcome.]

Back in the mists of time, when I studied chemistry at university, one of my lecturers liked to berate "arm-waving" - sloppy science, in which a few facts are cursorily linked, and a conclusion casually arrived at. This seems the case with the supposed migratory birds link with the current bird flu outbreak, with all-too-common reasoning being:
Migratory birds, especially waterbirds, carry several forms of bird flu. This H5N1 Bird Flu Variant has spread rapidly in east Asia. Birds migrate, with migration routes linking infected countries. Ergo: migratory birds are responsible for the spread; or "likely" to be responsible, or "presumably" (Klaus Stohr, WHO), and other such less emphatic terms. [The WHO's 2 March 2004 update says there's no evidence for this. Better late than never!]

This makes for a nice, easy story, with wild birds making easy targets (scapegoats): they don't vote, don't speak, aren't even perceived as having great value. But take a little time to seek truth from facts (thanks, Deng Xiaoping, for pithily summarising a basic tenet of science), and the story looks just plain wrong - making it unjustified to make wild birds seem scary, or even suggest culling wild birds, as some people have done. The timings of the outbreaks and bird migrations are wrong; detailed migration routes and distributions are wrong; the new variant is lethal to wild birds too - it has killed some, but though thousands of evidently healthy wild birds have been tested, none (or only one) has yet been found to be carrying the new and nasty H5N1 variant (Genotype Z).

BirdFluInfo

Submitted by Martin Williams on Sat, 07/19/2008 - 00:57
in

[See also my page on why migratory birds aren't behind the bird flu spread in Asia;
also forum I've started on this site - July 05 - on H5N1 avian flu and wild birds; I'm posting much info there - almost like a blog, and comments/info welcome too.]

FAO - wild birds not spreading h5n1 Africa, Europe

Submitted by Martin on Thu, 05/11/2006 - 16:25

Aricle in NY Times won't be a surprise to anyone familiar with situation re wild birds and H5N1 (well, contents not a surprise; may be a suprise to see an article on the issue that's factual rather than speculative poop).

Juan Lubroth of FAO, quoted here, is disingenuous re our not having answers: situation in east Asia has shown wild birds can't survive and sustain and spread H5N1 (tho in article, too, is hint of Tooth Fairy Bird - as if it might still exist despite no evidence).

Natural wild bird flus are mild; it's evolutionary

Submitted by Martin on Wed, 04/26/2006 - 05:25

letter I've just had published in the Independent (UK):

Don't blame deadly flu on wild birds

Sir: I am an ornithologist based in Hong Kong, and since 2003 have followed the spread of H5N1 and the purported role of wild birds. I was surprised to read Sir Hugh Pennington's assertion (letter, 19 March) that "the evidence that these viruses [highly pathogenic avian influenzas] evolve in wild birds and are spread by them is overwhelmingly strong," as this contradicts all evidence I am aware of.

Natural wild bird flus are mild.

Catfish Farm

Submitted by Martin on Mon, 04/10/2006 - 13:07
in

I have been involved in discussions regarding the possibility "integrated fish farming" may play a role in sustaining and even spreading H5N1 bird flu: including when poultry manure is used as fish feed (see forum here; also links below). So when I stayed by a fish farm just outside Jakarta at the beginning of this month, I took a walk around.

Surprised by what I saw - included chicken carcasses being devoured by catfish. Carcasses, and bags of poultry manure, perhaps from an adjoining chicken farm, which was in a walled compound with a guard post at the gate. Took several photos, several of which are below: warning, not too great if you're squeamish, or perhaps about to eat.
 

Wild birds scared n killed thro H5N1 flu fears

Submitted by Martin on Sun, 01/29/2006 - 18:57

Reports re wild birds being killed (and scared off) in attempts to lower H5N1 risks seem to be increasing.
- despite scientific evidence being that they can't sustain H5N1.

In Thailand some time ago, Prime Minister Thaksin threatened to cull openbill storks when some (around 8?) died with H5N1.

Birds inc magpie robin in Hong Kong w H5N1

Submitted by Martin on Sat, 01/21/2006 - 20:04

Late to post this [re magpie robin, the first bird to test positive for H5N1 in HK during early 2006], after some hassles with website over past few days, but, from HK government, 19 January 2006:

Quote:
An Oriental Magpie Robin found dead in Kam Shan Tsuen, Tai Po was confirmed to be H5N1 positive following a series of laboratory tests, a spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said today (January 19).

h5n1 in chicken n duck manure inc in fish ponds?

Submitted by Martin on Wed, 11/16/2005 - 23:06

I received an email from a correspondent, Jo, including:

Quote:
Also noticed on this list of articles (link below) information about farmers in Vietnam accused of dumping at least 100 tonnes of chicken manure a day into a lake to feed the fish - I rest my case!

http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=HAN28708

- sent out an email re this to several people interested in H5N1 and conservation; led to flurry of info.

- notable partly as mute swans dying of H5N1 in Croatia (with one of them ringed in Hungary during prior stopover, with dates showing it surely

Henry Niman: prophet of doom for the Internet

Submitted by Martin on Tue, 08/30/2005 - 00:51

Perhaps since before recorded history began, we've been fascinated by people who tell us we're all doomed - the end of the world is nigh.

I don't believe wild birds are spreading h5n1

Submitted by Martin on Fri, 08/19/2005 - 23:19

post I just made in response to a question on Agonist.org, may be of interest:

In short, yes, I do believe wild birds are not spreading bird flu - not h5n1 variant that we're so concerned about. (But they carry plenty of flus; benign for vast vast majority, till farming gets them and transforms [into frankenflus - yikes!].)

Bit longer: birds were claimed to be vectors during 2003/2004, when there was extensive spread in east and se Asia.

Syndicate content