Bird Flu Threat??

**inspector_injector** · 10-24-2005, 05:40 PM

I wasn't sure where to post this, but it seems most appropiate in the diet section since chicken is part of ones diet.

I've been hearing alot more lately about this bird flu and how more and more people are dying.

People at work are starting to talk about it and I'm seeing it on the news every 2-3 days. You guys think this sh*ts starting to get serious or what??

Even though it's in the far east, the birds will fly to one island, contaminate other birds that fly to more western islands and so on till it hits the US, (that's where I'm at.) Maybe I'm just freaking out but let me know what you all think about this virus.

**MuckDog** · 10-24-2005, 05:47 PM

birds suck

**inspector_injector** · 10-24-2005, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by MuckDog

birds suck

True. Especially cuz those little f*ckers sh*t all over your car and always try to jump in your path while driving.

But they make good protein sources.... YUM YUM

**ShnouzedUp** · 10-25-2005, 01:30 AM

Yea man its actually going to be really serious... If you trace the avian flu, you can see how much it has evolved over the last 3 years... I'm working on my masters right now in Public Health with emphasis in Epidemiology. Epidemiologist are predicting it will wipe out around 80 million worldwide... I don't have the dates of when though.. When i do i'll keep you posted.

**G-Force** · 10-25-2005, 03:44 AM

i cant survive without chickens

shnouzed up - 80million are you serious? they are probably just quoting that cos thats how many people the spanish flu whipped out

**IronFreakX** · 10-25-2005, 04:09 AM

phew , such a relief to have a cure with me in case anything happens

**Kärnfysikern** · 10-25-2005, 04:10 AM

How high % of infected is estimated to die? If they estimate 80 million and Im assuming atleast a billion will get it the deat risk will be around 8-10% right??

**G-Force** · 10-25-2005, 06:03 AM

Originally Posted by johan

How high % of infected is estimated to die? If they estimate 80 million and Im assuming atleast a billion will get it the deat risk will be around 8-10% right??

chickens or people?

**kaptainkeezy04** · 10-25-2005, 09:40 AM

So seriously guys am I better off not eating chicken right now? and is chicken the only thing to worry about?

**G-Force** · 10-25-2005, 12:09 PM

well aparantly our chickens in the uk are safe (for now) cos they are kept indoors

the organic ones which are outside may run into trouble though

**Kärnfysikern** · 10-25-2005, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by G-Force

chickens or people?

Aslong as its not chicks Im happy

**Kärnfysikern** · 10-25-2005, 12:39 PM

I dont se how eating chicken could be any danger. Viruses cant whitstand the heat from cooking and viruses cant live for long in a dead bird anyway. Atleast not as far as I know. I think the danger is to those that handles the live chickens. Not to the chicken consumers.

**kaptainkeezy04** · 10-25-2005, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by johan

I dont se how eating chicken could be any danger. Viruses cant whitstand the heat from cooking and viruses cant live for long in a dead bird anyway. Atleast not as far as I know. I think the danger is to those that handles the live chickens. Not to the chicken consumers.

I need a lot more info...so ur saying that the 80 million people that are gonna die from this disease are only chicken handlers? How can people catch this disease? What are the symptoms?

**Kärnfysikern** · 10-25-2005, 01:44 PM

Right now the bird flu can only transmitt from birds to man, but not man to man. It needs to mutate to be able to spread man to man. Its when that happen that the bird flu becomes like the spanish flu and potent enough to kill 80 million. If it doesnt mutate its only a risk for those close to birds(and other animals that can get it).

**ShnouzedUp** · 10-25-2005, 05:04 PM

All it takes is one person to eat one bad bird... then that person goes and starts coughin all over everyting and everyone...Just another reason why its so important to wash your hands every 30 minutes or so.... as far as ways to beat it, the only thoughts on that right now are tamiflu and ascorbic acid... but no one knows for sure what will work and what won't... One of my professors is a practicing epidemiologist and she talks about the avian flu more and more each week... what i hear about it in the future, i will post on here..

**kaptainkeezy04** · 10-25-2005, 08:06 PM

sweet...ascorbic acid? same as vitamin C right? because i have a boatload of that stuff! how much oral vit C can the human body take in one day?

**ShnouzedUp** · 10-26-2005, 12:54 AM

bro i'm talking the IV form of ascorbate.... no one knows if it will even work.....just a small theory cause birds make their own ascorbic acid, so they are able to fight it for a while..... humans do not... so their maybe...MAYBE could a somewhat of chance ascorbate could actually work.. nothing is proven yet though of course.

**G-Force** · 10-26-2005, 03:11 AM

i heard there expecting 80 THOUSAND deaths not 80 million

**Kärnfysikern** · 10-26-2005, 04:30 AM

hell 80 thousand is nothing. I bet a regular flue wipes out that ammount of people over the world each year.

ShnouzedUp cool to se that someone else has discovered what I have been preaching

**kaptainkeezy04** · 10-26-2005, 06:53 AM

Originally Posted by kaptainkeezy04

sweet...ascorbic acid? same as vitamin C right? because i have a boatload of that stuff! how much oral vit C can the human body take in one day?

well...........

**Kärnfysikern** · 10-26-2005, 07:03 AM

yes ascorbic acid is vitamin c. How much you can take oraly depends on your condition,

If you are healthy anywhere betwen 15-20grams/day. If you are sic with a cold you can take up to 50 grams, with a flu as much as 200 grams. The ammount you can take is determined by bowel tollerance. The "limit" is when you get diharrea. That is the sign that the body isnt utilising the vitamin anymore. There is no danger in going above this limit however. Just discomfort.

**Kärnfysikern** · 10-26-2005, 07:05 AM

if you have a sensitive stomach get ahold of vitamin c in the form of sodium ascorbate. Ascorbic acid might be to acidic for some(but no problem for most).

If you have alot of ascorbic acid at home and find you have a sensitive stomach. Just mix it with baking soda or a general otc anti-acid.

**Pinkvelvet** · 10-26-2005, 07:43 AM

Avian Influenza
What is avian influenza?
Avian influenza (AI) is a contagious viral infection caused by the influenza virus Type "A", which can affect several species of food producing birds (chickens, turkeys, quails, guinea fowl, etc.), as well as pet birds and wild birds.

AI viruses can be classified into two categories: low pathogenic (LPAI) and high pathogenic (HPAI) forms based on the severity of the illness caused in birds, with AI causing the greatest number of deaths in birds. Most AI viruses are low pathogenic and typically cause little or no clinical signs in infected birds. However, some low pathogenic viruses are capable of mutating into high pathogenic viruses. There are many influenza subtypes, two of which include H5 and H7. Historically, only the H5 and H7 subtypes are known to have become high pathogenic in avian species.

What are the signs of disease?
Some or all of the following clinical signs are evident in infected birds:

quietness and extreme depression;
sudden drop in production of eggs, many of which are soft-shelled or shell-less;
wattles and combs become swollen and congested;
swelling of the skin under the eyes;
coughing, sneezing and nervous signs;
diarrhea;
oedema (swelling) and congestion of the combs;
hemorrhages on the hock;
a few deaths may occur over several days, but an outbreak may follow, killing hundreds or thousands of birds each day.
Diagnosis of avian influenza may be made on the basis of clinical signs and events leading to the disease. However, since the signs and course of avian influenza are similar to other diseases, laboratory diagnosis is essential.

How is the disease transmitted to birds?
Wild birds, especially waterfowl, are natural reservoirs for the influenza viruses - yet show no clinical signs - and can be responsible for the primary introduction of infection into domestic poultry.

The disease can also spread to birds through contact with infected poultry and poultry products, and through manure and litter containing high concentrations of the virus, for example through contaminated clothing and footwear, vehicles and equipment, and feed and water.

Is avian influenza transmissible to humans?
Avian influenza viruses, such as the H5 virus present in Asia, may, on rare occasions, cause disease in humans. Human transmission has occurred to people having prolonged contact with heavily contaminated environments. Human to human transmission of avian influenza is extremely limited.

Due to the potential for human infection, it is recommended that those people working with or in contact with poultry suspected of being infected with avian influenza wear protective clothing, including face masks, goggles, gloves and boots.

As you can see and probably guess the countries which do not heed a requirement for astringent hygienic conditions are more susceptible to spreading the virus. And, it's because of those countries which do not follow protocal when eviserating fowl that contamination occurs and is transmitted to following countries with very strict guidelines, eg) Canada, U.S., New Zealand....
As consumers we can't prevent this from occuring, it has to start at the government level in the production process.
And, yes; human to human transmission is limited....keep in mind that all viruses try to mutate for survival in the gene world. Not saying this will happen..just saying it could.
I wouldn't get bent over this just yet. There have been cases of Avian flu since the 60's. It's just never been published because of lack of media, government stance with food safety and past lack-of consumer awareness.

**Warrior** · 10-26-2005, 12:04 PM

Hopefully this sh!t stays away from the Middle East - like G-Force, I can't live without chickens... it's a huge part of my diet...

**kaptainkeezy04** · 10-26-2005, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by Warrior

Hopefully this sh!t stays away from the Middle East - like G-Force, I can't live without chickens... it's a huge part of my diet...

Yeah no kidding what the hell would we replace chicken with? Oh and Johan, how much more effective is Ester-C than plain old C?

**Kärnfysikern** · 10-26-2005, 12:55 PM

kaptain in the dosages Im talking about there is no real difference. Go with the cheapest possible vitamin c you can find. Its all the same when it comes to mega dosages.

**kaptainkeezy04** · 10-26-2005, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by johan

kaptain in the dosages Im talking about there is no real difference. Go with the cheapest possible vitamin c you can find. Its all the same when it comes to mega dosages.

cool thanks.

**Corporal_USMC** · 10-28-2005, 08:06 AM

well the thing is if the virus "mutates" then it will be easier for humans to catch and spread this virus amongst eachother, but were talking probably years at minimum, there just taking precautions right now so this situation won't happen, besides this virus has been around for awhile now, but now were just hearing about it. I say just wash your hands more frequent and stay away from jacked up looking birds!

**kaptainkeezy04** · 10-28-2005, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by Corporal_USMC

well the thing is if the virus "mutates" then it will be easier for humans to catch and spread this virus amongst eachother, but were talking probably years at minimum, there just taking precautions right now so this situation won't happen, besides this virus has been around for awhile now, but now were just hearing about it. I say just wash your hands more frequent and stay away from jacked up looking birds!

LOL I love how the experts are saying to try to avoid contact with bird faeces...well if you had a hard time keeping your hands off bird faeces in the first place then your main worry probably shouldnt be the bird flu but rather why the hell you cant keep your damn hands off of bird faeces.

**Pinkvelvet** · 10-28-2005, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by kaptainkeezy04

LOL I love how the experts are saying to try to avoid contact with bird faeces...well if you had a hard time keeping your hands off bird faeces in the first place then your main worry probably shouldnt be the bird flu but rather why the hell you cant keep your damn hands off of bird faeces.

lmao!!! Point well made kaptain!!!

**Corporal_USMC** · 10-30-2005, 12:05 AM

Originally Posted by kaptainkeezy04

LOL I love how the experts are saying to try to avoid contact with bird faeces...well if you had a hard time keeping your hands off bird faeces in the first place then your main worry probably shouldnt be the bird flu but rather why the hell you cant keep your damn hands off of bird faeces.

**KrooC** · 10-31-2005, 03:56 AM

this may sound stupid but what about eggs??

**FranKieC** · 11-15-2005, 02:03 PM

Bump

I actually read an article on this the other day and it said to boil chicken before baking or grilling from now on or until the threat is under control.