100 stray cats out of 500 tested in Indonesia were found to be infected with H5N1 bird flu - then released back into the streets because researchers
had no right to destroy them. The cats were tested between September and December last year, says Dr C.A. Nidom, head of Avian Influenza Laboratorium
at the University of Airlangga. They were collected from "markets selling chicken and in the vicinity of hospitals designated to treat bird flu
patients."
Bird Flu update: Alarm as infected stray cats roam
the streets
The irony is that when tests were conducted on 500 stray cats in Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang, Bandung, Tangerang and Lampung, and the 100 were found
to be infected, they were all released back onto the streets.
"The tests showed that the virus is becoming more complex. We have to change our thinking and look at the possibility that the virus can spread to
humans not only through chickens but also through other animals."
"The cat’s biological make-up is much closer to that of humans than chicken. A cat also has the same body temperature as humans, whereas a chicken
does not."
It was well known by last year that H5N1 infects a variety of species, and can spread via waste through water and soil, and then on to infect larger
areas and more species.
However, no public health authority acknowledges officially that H5N1 bird flu can spread to humans through any infected animals except birds. Or that
the endemic spread to other species is a problem.
The position is political, and based on an economic rationale, not a scientific one. It is designed to protect trade, not public health.
Some fools apparently think we can let bird flu kill off all the natives in the world's prime vacation spots, then waltz in with a vaccine, grab the
real estate, take over and relax in style.
Greed + hubris + undue faith in biotechnology + scientific ignorance = dead planet.
Also see:
Bird flu back in Thailand and Japan, found in cats in Indonesia
[edit on 16-1-2007 by soficrow]
