Nine poultry farmers commit suicide in flu-hit India

[Bhaisahab]

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Nine poultry farmers in India have killed themselves and more are facing a grim future after bird flu slashed demand for chicken meat, an industry group said on Wednesday.

India has culled hundreds of thousands of birds to contain several outbreaks of the H5N1 avian flu virus in poultry since February, but the disease has continued to resurface, mostly in western Maharashtra state.

The scare has decimated the country's $7.8 billion poultry industry, which says losses in the past two months have reached $2.2 billion.

continued: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-04-12T073942Z_01_BOM269913_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU-INDIA.xml

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an interesting thing about bird flu in india. the outbreak happened all of a sudden in a poultry farm. "farm" is the wrong word to describe it really. a typical poultry farm consists of a large ware-housey thing with rows and rows of cages in which are crammed chickens. they are fed in these cages, and are never allowed to roam free. so the question is - how did bird flu appear in such conditions? i wonder because bird flu is supposed to be transmitted world wide by migratory birds flying in from the north. there is no scope for interaction between migratories and tandoor-bound chickens. so how the hell did the caged birds acquire bird flu. perhaps it was injected?

[SheilaT]

1. Are the birds in India

also kept in those kinds of warehouses? I had thought not, that such a system was particular to the U.S., and maybe western Europe. I thought that in most of the rest of the world, flocks were allowed to roam free, and that's exactly why wild birds are spreading it.

[Bhaisahab]

4. oh yeah, chicken farming is as mechanized

as in the west. these of course serve the urban markets. rural households still retain a few chickens. but i never heard of any bird flu outbreak in the villages. all the 3-4 outbreaks in india have originated in poultry farms, where the chicken are in cages.

[henslee]

9. The biggest problem on a mechanized chicken farm is rats, when the

virus can go from bird to rat, we will have big problems. I wonder if this can already happen.

[GeorgeGist]

2. Perhaps not...

Apart from being highly contagious among poultry, avian influenza viruses are readily transmitted from farm to farm by the movement of live birds, people (especially when shoes and other clothing are contaminated), and contaminated vehicles, equipment, feed, and cages. Highly pathogenic viruses can survive for long periods in the environment, especially when temperatures are low. For example, the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus can survive in bird faeces for at least 35 days at low temperature (4oC). At a much higher temperature (37oC), H5N1 viruses have been shown to survive, in faecal samples, for six days.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/avian_influenza/en/#role

Google is your friend. Peace.

[Bhaisahab]

6. Hmmm. Perhaps I misunderestimated

my intelligence. what you say may explain it. but that blasted tin foil is nibbling at my brain like a little aligator. i think i'll go to bed (its one am here). goodnight!

[admsitio]

3. I DONT AGREE

NOTHING JUSTIFIES TO COMMIT SUICIDE, I AM NOT IN AGREEMENT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO DO THAT, THIS WORLD EVERY DAY IS MORE CRAZY.

[Bhaisahab]

5. welcome to DU man.

i hear you.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

7. As a chicken afficianado

I sympathize.

Although I see some regretable black humor in your title for some reason. Probably time for me to go home. I'm getting punchy.

[genieroze]

8. Question. Would cooking them destroy the virus?

[poverlay]

12. Yes, cooking the chicken to the proper temp. makes it perfectly safe.n/t

[Speck Tater]

10. Here's another way it can spread

Open topped feed trucks carting grain to the chicken factory... infected bird flies over, poops into exposed grain... grain is dumped at factory and fed to caged chickens. Voila!

[jwirr]

11. If a country has to kill all its birds, especially domestic birds, is

there a way to renew the flocks for the future? I have thought about what it would mean to be without eggs and chickens for a food source. Please vegetarians do not flame me. I am diabetic and cannot eat all the pasta that replaces simple meats.

[Lorien]

13. I'm a hypoglycemic vegetarian

and I can't eat pasta. Pasta doesn't replace meats; soy, nuts, beans, cheese, and a product called Quorn replace meats for me-though I do also eat eggs. Life would be harder without eggs but I know I could manage!

[jwirr]

14. Soy, nuts and beans have a lot of carbs. If you could replace meats

with small amounts of these items I guess it would work.

[WhiteTara]

15. just collateral damage in Rummy's

world. He needs the bucks he can make on the flu vaccine.
I am so sorry for the people who were completely ruined by the horrors of this so called pandemic starter. The only real victims are the birds that are dying. Except of course for the people who are being ruined by this terrible thing.