Chile finds swine flu in turkeys, page
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Topic started on 21-8-2009 @ 08:52 AM by TheAmused

Chile finds swine flu in turkeys


www.reuters.com
Chile detected the H1N1 swine flu virus in turkeys, authorities said, the first time the virus has been found outside humans and pigs, but said there was no indication the disease had spread to other parts of Chile.

The country's farming and livestock agency SAG said on Thursday the flu outbreak had been controlled at the two farms 75 miles west of the capital Santiago and notified the World Organization for Animal Health.

"We call on the public to consume turkey products with confidence," a SAG statement said. It added that laboratory results ruled out the presence of H5N1 or bird fl
(visit the link for the full news article)


reply posted on 23-8-2009 @ 02:03 AM by Karlhungis
reply to post by ExPostFacto



The article states that the turkeys are only showing mild symptoms.

reply to post by TheAmused





So what if it start's and chickens get it?

Our food supply is gonna get scary fast.


The food supply should probably be the least of your concerns. Pigs are infected and you can still get some pork chops. This shouldn't have any affect on the food we consume.

The bigger problem is that if turkeys can get infected, then it really is just a matter of time before a more migrational species of bird contracts it. This will have a huge potential for the bird to human transmission of Avian flu.

I really hope that we don't end up living out "The Stand", because it is starting to feel like a distinct possibility.


reply posted on 25-8-2009 @ 02:47 PM by burdman30ott6
Here's why this story should be getting way more coverage than it has so far. As it stands right now, the "Bird Flu" H5N1 which has been seen heavily in the Asian countries among poultry hasn't made the jump to become easily contractible by humans. Of the several hundred humans who have become infected by it (almost all of them poultry workers), it has displayed a 60% mortality rate, 60%! H1N1, however, has displayed a mortality rate far lower than even that of the seasonal flu... but it's infection rate is ridiculously high, managing to transmit itself to virtually anyone who comes in contact with the virus. Reports list both H5N1 and H1N1 as being extremely unstable and susceptible to mutations, including exchanging genetic material with other flu strains.

This is where this turkey story comes in and, honestly, is the first report about H1N1 that has actually frightened me. The fact that H1N1 is now actively infecting birds, presumably from a human carrier, means that the gap between H5N1 and the elusive "quick infection route" into humans is essentially bridged. All that has to happen now is for the H1N1 virus to infect a poultry farm which already is carrying the Bird Flu H5N1 virus and every ingredient for mutation is present. Even worse, viruses, like all living creatures, mutate traits which help them fulfill primary objectives of life (obtain food, protection from threats, and reproduction of the species). H5N1 has a slow burn rate, which means those who have managed to contract it go about their business for awhile before knowing they're even sick. A side effect of this seems to be a massive amount of damage to their system, causing death in 60% of them so far. H1N1, on the other hand, has a quick fuse, going from healthy to feeling sick in a couple days, to feeling better a couple days after that, and it does relatively little real damage to the carrier's system. Flip a coin... if you were a virus would you rather remain infectious for a shorter time and leave your host relatively unscathed at the end, or remain virulent for a longer time, but see the death of the host? I'm guessing the longer virulent period will win that mutation lottery, but I really hope I'm wrong.
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