Vietnam begins duck slaughter

In an effort to stop the spread of the of the deadly bird flu virus, H5N1, the Vietnamese govt has started to collect ducks and pigeons from farms for culling.

HANOI - Officials in Ho Chi Minh City have begun slaughtering ducks in an increasingly desperate fight to halt the spread of the deadly bird flu virus that has killed 13 people in Vietnam in the last month.

cbc

There has also been another confirmed case reported, a 24 year-old Vietnamese man. He is said to be recovering in hospital.

I remember when we had to kill all the birds in the Fraser Valley because of the Avian flu. The problem wasn't the logistics of slaughtering the birds, but in the safe disposal of the carcasses. There was a big uproar because people didn't want the virus leaching in to water table. I doubt they will take such precautions in Vietnam, and may cause a whole new problem.

Hopefully the proper precautions will be taken, as even though it's an internal problem, there are indeed external agencies watching, such as WHO. Given the procedures listed below, along with the potential survival of the virus in manure and water, it''s crucial for safe and proper disposal to happen, otherwise the culling is essentially pointless, IMO.

The most important control measures are rapid destruction (“culling”) of all infected or exposed birds, proper disposal of carcasses, and the quarantining and rigorous disinfection of farms. The virus is killed by heat (60 degrees C for 30 minutes) and common disinfectants, such as fomalin and iodine compounds. However, the virus can survive, at cool temperatures, in contaminated manure for at least three months. In water, the virus can survive for up to four days at 22 degrees C and more than 30 days at 0 degrees C. For the highly pathogenic form, studies have shown that a single gram of contaminated manure can contain enough virus to infect 1 million birds. Restrictions on the movement of live poultry, both within and between countries, are another important control measure.

Exactly. Without proper disposal, it is an excercise in futility. Here, they ended up incinerating the carcasses, because the towns that ran the landfills refused to accept the shipments. While the bags that they would have been in were double-layered and treated, there was a concern of leakage or puntures.

I don't know that Vietnam has the facilities to dispose of these in the only real safe manner, IMO, cremation.

Anyone else have the impression that our food supply is under attack?

Beef. check
Chicken. check
Duck. check
Milk. next

Originally posted by Justanotherperson
Anyone else have the impression that our food supply is under attack?

Beef. check
Chicken. check
Duck. check
Milk. next

I'd say check beside milk, too.