Virulent bird flu could be looming

Re Scientists hunt for answers after puzzling bird flu deaths, April 2 The fact that this newest strain of influenza to emerge in China, H7N9, is related to the 2004 strain in B.C. that led to the culling of 19 million chickens should give us pause. Even if we dodge a bullet this time and it turns out to have low virulence and low mortality in human populations, it doesn’t change the hard reality that a variant of avian flu with high virulence and high mortality could be just around the corner. And it isn’t just bird flu we have to be concerned about, as our most recent scare here in North America, the H5N1virus, originated in pigs. The World Society for the Protection of Animals’ 2012 report “What’s on your plate? The Hidden Costs of Industrial Animal Agriculture” states: “The majority of all human infectious diseases come from animals. More than 500 different pathogens (viruses, bacteria, parasites, etc.) can be transmitted from animals to humans through the consumption of meat and animal byproducts, contact with live animals (bites, cuts and scratches), dust inhalation, exposure to manure, contaminated clothing and equipment, transport routes and vehicles, meatpacking plant waste and contaminated water and soil.”

It’s high time we looked at the way some intensive confinement methods contribute to the spread of viruses and bacterial infections. Sometimes the solutions are as simple as giving animals more space and modifying their diets. How many people are aware, for instance, that pasture-reared and pasture-finished cows don’t develop e-coli? For the benefit of animals and people, governments should recognize that intensive livestock operations have significant impacts on public health, our environment, animal welfare and our rural communities and should work to promote food policies that are more humane, more sustainable and better for our health and ecosystems. Patrick Tohill,