Warning as bird flu crossover danger escalates
The poultry farms of Asia are the breeding ground for the avian influenza virus, which is likely to spread across species - and to the West
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Sunday December 12, 2004
The Observer
Wanphen Sripirom has struggled for years to scrape a living as a subsistence farmer in Phichit province, north of Bangkok. Chickens have provided her with a lifeline that has been crucial for survival.
But last week Wanphen had to face a heart-breaking prospect: the slaughter of her brood. 'They're going to be killed tonight,' she said. It was a bitter blow, although the farmer is not alone in the privations she faces. Thousands of others across Asia have already had their livelihoods devastated because their poultry has become infected by H5N1, the bird flu virus. Tens of thousands of ducks and chickens have been infected and tens of millions have been culled this year in a bid to stop the disease spreading. Economists believe this price tag for China alone has been £31 billion. The figure for the whole of South-East Asia is double that.
Health officials are unrepentant, however, for they are desperate to stop the disease spreading - not just to other poultry but to humans. The farms of South-East Asia, where humans and animals live beside each other in tiny yards and huts, have become a vast reservoir for the H5N1 virus, and that chills not just local officials but the world's health authorities.
The planet, they believe, is poised on the brink of a new flu pandemic whose source will be the infected farm birds of Thailand, Vietnam and China.
Already 44 confirmed human cases of H5N1 infection have been documented in Thailand and Vietnam (the only countries to report human cases). Of these, 32 have died, a fatality rate of 73 per cent. No wonder the World Health Organisation and other international medical groups have become fixated about South-East Asian agriculture.
'No man is an island,' said John Oxford, professor of virology at Queen Mary Westfield school of medicine, London. 'It doesn't matter where it starts - it will be on our doorstep within 12 hours. You can't argue that it isn't our problem.'
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'We are talking at least seven million (deaths), but maybe more - 10 million, 20 million and the worst case 100 million,' he said. And Shigeru was backed by Henk Bekedam, the Beijing WHO representative. 'This is a very real threat,' Bekedam told The Observer .
This is real people. Not a wierd news post or tin foil stuff. Unless you really believe that China, Russia or N. Koreans might bio-engineer a disease to solve population problems and then raise havoc over here. 'Nuff said.
That's an astounding mortality rate. Fortunately, that's still a relatively small sample, and unsustainable on a global basis.