Is bird flu still a threat?

almostnormal · #11 (**permalink**) 18-02-2008, 05:08 PM

Although H5N1 is a nasty wee beasty, simple health and safety (oh no...not h&s I hear you cry

) is all that's required to stop its transmission into humans. Wash your hands after you've been out, try and refrain from poking dead birds with your bare hands, and if you have to, for whatever reason, handle a dead one, wear a face mask and latex gloves. These should then be disposed of in a biological waste disposal bin. I'm having trouble thinking of a reason to handle dead birds though, unless you're a vet. If you find a dead bird (or group of dead birds), there's a number to ring on the DEFRA website.

Most cases of H5N1, despite what the papers might say, are from within domestic fowl confines, and then passed out into the wild bird population through poor human hygeine. Not all birds that contract it die, and its crossover to humans is limited, even though it does happen.

If we continue to house unnaturally high numbers of domestic fowl in barns in very close proximity avian flu will continue to be a potential issue, although the papers do sensationalise and exaggerate its risks.

The pandemic was caused by a mutated and hybridised virus, not a straight bird flu. Although its possible that H5N1 could do this, its highly unlikely to do so.

Highland Damsel · #12 (**permalink**) 18-02-2008, 10:06 PM

i'm inclined to agree with the last two posts, bird flu is still a threat, i have suspected for some time that sensationalist media has been deliberately toned down to prevent panic, just because it's not in the news doesn't mean it's gone away. I was at a conference on Phytophthora ramorum/kernoviae last week, this is a serious threat to a whole heap of things, but very few people knew much about it and it's not in the news, but it's still there.