Bird 'Flu

It was only a matter of time.

I live within a 30 min drive of Cellardyke, one of the pretty fishing villages of the 'East Neuk' of Fife but it won't make any difference to my life unless they put 'foot and mouth' type restrictions on. Sadly though it probably will affect the tourist industry in a lovely part of the world that's already reeling from the decimation of our fishing industry. It will make for wonderfull deserted beaches to stroll along during the summer though so please vist if you get the chance.

Somewhat more worrying is if we have a bad outbreak (inevetable really) at Loch Leven which is a major RSPB (Vane Farm) water and wetland reserve with thousands upon thousands of migratory birds such as hooper swans, greylag geese, swallows and even flocks of starlings etc. Passing in and out during the year. I pass the loch regularly on my way to a job I do and I saw the first swallows this week and was idly wondering how long it would be before the dreaded 'flu arrived :( The swans particularly are a regular sight on the loch and it's difficult to imagine it without them.

I'm relatively fit and healthy so I won't be rushing to the quack for injections or pills even if it does mutate to human-human spread. Sometimes I wonder which is worse, taking your chanches and living a healthy life out in the open or being hunkered up, living in fear surrounded by pills, powders and potions.

Those more vulnerable should take sensible precautions but abject terror is not the answer. Just enjoy each day to the full!

Loch Leven, Fife/Kinroshire.



Sandy bay between Elie and St. Monance - East Neuk



Both taken in August last year

 

Agree with absolutely all of that - you can't cosset yourself all the time - you've got to die of something sometime, so you might as well have a healthy outdoors life, and enjoy it. About the tourist trade - yes, I guess it'll suffer, but hopefully not as much as with the foot and mouth episode - that was dire. I expect that places like St Andrews won't suffer much, though, as people won't think of bird flu in connection with that. I sometimes doubt tourists know what country they're going to, let alone which county!! People who go for the golf, will probably always go there for the golf, for instance.

Fife is a beautiful place - I have many hapy memories of childhood holidays, and now every clear day I have a great view over the hills to the north, and it makes me feel good.

 

You have struck a note close to my heart having spent many years breeding and showing rare breed poultry, some of these old breed could now be lost for ever and if you take the full implications of this, we are loosing our family silver - our genetic gene pool of recourses.

the funny thing is that flu has always been prevelant in poultry not sure, but I think it is called micoplasma. we used to inject our birds, as they were very vulnorable going round shows. before I ever kept poultry I caought a very strange disease (which I definately can't spell - can't even spell English!) ?Psyticosis? it caused very bad pneumonia.

There will always be an over reaction, but until it mutates to a human form I think we have little to fear, meanwhile I hope they build on vacines.

Lovely pictures - I would come and visit!

 

Thank you for sharing that with us Frogesque,it was inevitable it would be here soon,it just happen to start at your end......keep us posted.

 

Lets face it, it could already be in many parts of the UK, its just not been noticed yet.
Not sure where the French outbreak was, but that could easily be nearer where I am than the Scottish report.
Its not going to bother me, that is unless large flocks of wild birds are killed, (I dont want to see that).
Its interesting how the media approach the subject, they spend large amounts of air time on the news telling us how dangerous this can be, and whipping up hysteria, then tell us not to panic.

 

Heard the news this morning on way to work .Thought here we go again first it was BSE then F+M and now this . Seems that the vets are looking at 3 or 4 swans out of the River Bann here in NI looks as if weve got it to.

 

True, Pete the media have a lot to answer for, they know what gets viewers, whipping up hysteria and telling us not to panic seems to be too common these days.

 

So, we're not all joining in the rush for pointless vaccinations then? I guess if you actually worked with poultry, or were a vet, etc - you might feel differently.

 

It is not the first time that a strain of bird flu has visited this country, and I am sure it will not be the last.

As far as I know from the reports the wild bird population has not been wiped out in the places initially affected and it appears that whilst the virus has mutated and crossed the species barrier it has only affected people living in close proximity to birds with the disease - and the numbers considering how long it has been identified have been very small. It has not as yet mutated to people to people.

The risk is to the poultry industry and domestic poultry - a worrying time for organic and free range birds. Not sure what vaccination would do to organic status, but free range birds housed for over l2 weeks lose their free range status. As I understand it - the incubation period is short like most flue virus.

Me I will continue to feed my visiting wild birds, and will continue to eat free range poultry and free range eggs as normal. My trip to Scotland when planned, will go ahead, whether we have more cases of wild birds succumbing or not. The media, of course will do their usual hysterical coverage - well most are after all only interested selling papers for advertising revenue. One of the reasons I stopped taking a newspaper was the lack of objective, factual reporting.

Hopefully as spring moves to summer - the virus will disappear again for now and the wild bird population - let alone the domestic birds will not be too greatly affected. As memory serves it is a virus that does not like warm weather.

 

i hope evry1 keeps feeding garden birds, cos they are ready to start laying, most garden birds don t migrate inwards anyway, so keep feeding them, its always a good idea to clean the table regularly, as disease can be spread at the table, just common sense tho, no need to panic, and i ll not be keeping my cats in, it would be over the top, most likely incomers are big birds which don t frequent gardens anyway

 

I heard a point on the radio last night which I have to question. It said that the virus could mutate and pass to a human, but the human could not then pass it to another human. (first big???) then is said the only problem would be if the human who caught it already had flu and the bird flu mutated with human type flu (I could go alling with that bit).

Can anyone clarify? or did I get that wrong in smy sweat pea barain!

 

Where are you going in Scotland, Fran? Braving Fife??

 

Waco - avian flu has been known about for a long time and only affected birds. However this strain is different not only because of its severity but because it has mutated so that it is able to be passed to humans (cross the specie barrier) if they live in close proximity with a diseased bird.

Thats why the hysterical headlines because a number of people (NOT ALL) died who contracted it. As I recall the number is 40 world wide in the six months since it was identified. The number who contracted it is also still very low.

It has NOT mutated so that it can pass from human to human - as our normal flu, and indeed colds do. It is still very much a bird flu which has on a few occassions managed to infect a human - not the first bug to have done so.

However the flu virus is known to mutate - (like bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, aphids to pesticides etc) and so after it managed to cross the specie barrier, albeit only when in close proximity over time, it is now being watched very carefully.

Does that make it any clearer or caused further confusion. I hope not.

 

Yep Thanks.

 

Have just started a really 'orrible cold - but I haven't been near any chickens!


Like your cow Lisa - where did you find that?