Earth & Wildlife: Vast Reservoirs of Deadly Diseases?

The inspirational headline reads Poultry markets in China 'are vast bird flu reservoir'. The recommended solution is to close China's live poultry markets to "prevent human disease and protect public health''. Next step: Factory farms.

Just so you know, it's all Bull Puckey. Forget China's live poultry markets - our whole planet and its wildlife are vast reservoirs of deadly diseases. If you want to see it that way. Lots of nasty viruses are loose in the wild, and new zoonoses (diseases that spread from animals to people, and around and back again) are appearing with regularity. Wild birds have so many deadly strains and clades of bird flu they can't count 'em; wild bats have MERS and SARS; mice have Hantavirus; mosquitoes carry West Nile; our soil is contaminated with prions; there be rabies and hemorrhagic fevers and AIDS out there! Oh no!

Our leaders can't think beyond wars, battles and fortresses. But talking about a SARS-like virus that can jump directly from wild bat-to-human, Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, said:

"It changes the equation" for public health…
"We can close all the markets in China and still have a pandemic."

Drop the Doom Porn

This is how evolution works. It's how we got to the top of the food chain.

If Earth and its wildlife really are vast reservoirs of deadly diseases, then so are humans - and we all always have been. We all share and exchange microbes, viruses and nano-particles with regularity. Hell, we are supra-organisms: we ARE a vast collection of microbes, viruses and nano-particles, every single individual one of us. We survive environmental change by passing around, sharing and exchanging microbes, viruses and nano-particles. That's how evolution works. It's not about survival of the fittest; it's about survival of the adapted. But you can't adapt to change if you try to hide and avoid every little exposure. In fact, microbes and viruses are a big part of our evolutionary survival toolkit - our First Responders when the environment changes and threatens our survival. They share their successful mutations and adaptations with us.

The natural system works. It's the industrial tinkering and interventions that muck things up.

I grew up on a small family farm long ago. I remember my Dad and other small farmers from our town sitting around our wood stove talking about how 'th' govinment' was pushing them to use chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. They were all uneducated, but wise in the way of the land. Here's the gist of what I remember from their conversations:

* The Earth has its own ways of cleaning and balancing things.
* Soil is a mechanical filter.
* Plants and animals are biological filters.
* By the time diseases get to humans, they've been "sanitized" enough so we can handle them.
* You never know what will happen if you start using chemicals - "they" say it's safe but "they" don't really know.
* What if the chemicals interfere with the lands' natural order?
* Best not to tinker. Might muck up the works.

Long story short, their common wisdom did not prevail because the pot was sweetened with government subsidies and corporate grants, aka bribes, and they all needed the cash. So they, and their children, became guinea pigs in a corporate experiment on human beings. But that's another story. Interesting though, many scientists and researchers now have come to similar conclusions made by my uneducated Dad and his uneducated friends.

Status Report
Industrial agriculture and other industrial activities have not only changed the environment but are accelerating and interfering with natural evolutionary processes. The escalation was first and most evident in microbes and viruses. 50-odd years into it, we are in the middle of the 6th Mass Extinction. Humans are not immune.

The Fortress Solution

Now-common wisdom identifies the problem and solution simplistically - the Earth is a dangerous place, so we need to:
* Isolate and protect our food sources -and ourselves- from the dangers; and
* Develop medicines and medical technologies to recover and maintain our unadapted evolutionary state.

The recommended "solution" to the "problem" is to raise all food animals in enclosed factory farms - "protected" from "dangerous" exposures to other animals and the world-at-large. Plans are also in the works to develop enclosed greenhouses to grow all our food plants - and so, "protect" our plant-based foods from "dangerous" exposures to the world-at-large. The final step will be to herd the human population into "safe," enclosed and "self-sustaining" dwellings and cities aka bubbles. When the bubbles open, humans will be recognized officially as disease reservoirs too, and any individual suspected of "carrying" any infectious or genetic disease or "negative trait" will not be allowed access to the new, 'biologically safe and secure' enclosures.

In fact, "enclosure" creates even smaller petrie dishes than our planet does - with far greater dangers of new mutations developing into even deadlier diseases. Diseases tend to thrive in enclosed environments. Evidence from factory farms to cruise ships and space capsules show that enclosures are far more dangerous than our Earth.

Factory farms can create public health concerns beyond foodborne illness. Because over-crowded animals are susceptible to infection and disease, most industrial livestock facilities treat the animals with low-levels of antibiotics to prevent illness and also promote weight gain. By creating a breeding ground for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the sub-therapeutic dosages used on millions of factory-farmed livestock can reduce the effectiveness of antibiotics for human patients. The feed used for livestock can also introduce public health threats. …

Norovirus infection outbreaks (NoVOs) occur frequently in closed populations, such as cruise ship passengers.

Hepatitis E outbreak on cruise ship.

A large outbreak of influenza A and B on a cruise ship causing widespread morbidity.

Effects of radiation and latent virus on immune responses in a space flight model.

This small animal model of space flight suggests that the combined effects of radiation and virus replication will significantly affect T-lymphocyte-mediated immunity that may lead to chronic viral infection and malignancy.

The hazards of long-duration space flight are real and unacceptable.

cont'd....

Survival of the Adapted

We can't survive if we don't adapt - and we can't adapt if we try to separate ourselves from our planet.

We are all one, from nano-particle to macro-molecule to every other complex system - let's stop making war on ourselves.

Look to the ancient medical traditions and herbals - they promote gentle assimilation, adaptation and not just long-term survival, but flourishing.

Know that our cells respond to exposures, for good and ill - attend to what you put in your body.

Yes - minimize your exposure to new diseases, practice good hygiene and avoid crowds during outbreaks and pandemics.

But don't be afraid of difference and disease - we do not know what steps are involved in our adaptations, or what's really needed for our species' survival - except that disease really is an essential aspect, and evidence of exposure/adaptation.



Finally, if you want to survive, stay out of the bubbles. And don't eat bubble-raised food either.






Controversial I know. Comments?

~sofi

That's pretty complete, I can't add much to it. We have to start trusting in mother nature again and also the wisdom passed on through the ages by our ancestors.

"Biosecurity" is the rallying cry; isolation and containment are the recommended solutions. The focus is on H7N9 bird flu (the 4th case in 3 weeks was just confirmed in China), but H5N1 bird flu resurfaced in humans with a vengeance in Cambodia this fall, and a MeKong Delta province just declared an epidemic in poultry. Meanwhile, H1N1 swine flu keeps popping up around the world, killing people.

Backyard animals are still allowed in developing nations, but how long will that last when a pandemic hits? Given the nature of the political-economic beast there will be a scapegoat. Backyard poultry are sitting ducks. [Pun intended.]

Biosecurity: Isolation and Containment Recommended

Biosecurity measures on backyard chickens

…Poultry farming is a major industry in animal production, with backyard flocks which represent the vast majority of that production, especially in developing countries. In these countries, the villagers raise poultry to meet the demand of households and as an additional way to earn income. They make use of chicken wire, however, production methods involve low backyard biosecurity and high risk of contagious infections, such as Newcastle disease or zoonoses highly pathogenic avian influenza.

…Although biosecurity principles of isolation and containment are described in most of the documents, it was found that only a few documents have impact scenario measures for family poultry and none provided any evidence of feasibility and efficacy for application in backyard poultry.

Given the constant threat posed by HPAI H5N1 to humans in developing countries, Conan and the other sponsors said their findings highlighted the importance of encouraging applied research in order to identify long and adaptable biosecurity measures to flocks backyard poultry in low income countries.

Bird and Swine Flu Around the World

Fourth case of H7N9 bird flu confirmed in China in 3 weeks

Zhejiang woman critical as scientists say it is too early to predict whether major outbreak is likely

…"We expect to continue to see a small number of sporadic cases. To date, there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission," said Dr Bernhard Schwartlander, the WHO representative in China.

Schwartlander said whether the H7N9 virus could actually cause a pandemic was unknown, although "in principle, [it] carries a risk".

Tien Giang declares H5N1 bird flu epidemic [In Poultry] …MeKong Delta

Honduras confirms 3rd death from H1N1 flu

Patient who tested positive for swine flu dies in Alaska hospital

The unidentified young adult was one of 11 confirmed cases of H1N1 or 'swine flu' reported in Alaska since flu season began in September

* In announcing the death, the hospital noted they currently have other flu patients who are 'seriously ill'
* H1N1 reached pandemic levels in 2009 and is still circulating
* H1N1 is included in the 2013-2014 flu shot

soficrow
* The Earth has its own ways of cleaning and balancing things.

Yes ... and humanity is 'out of balance' and is causing the planet to be 'out of balance'.
Therefore, the planet will have to 'clean and balance' humanity.
There are too many of us for this Earth to sustain itself.
The natural clean and balance process will have to include a massive human
number reduction.

Anyways ... that's my input. Not very cheery ... but there it is.

Interesting thread and discussion. I'll keep an eye on it.

reply to post by FlyersFan


Thanks FF. An idea to ponder if you will...

The over-focus on overpopulation bugs me. Maybe it's a chicken-and-egg thing. But. Seems to me our planet is out of balance due mostly to economic-industrial activities, and the attendant contaminations and pollutions - these effects have to do with profit, not serving the human population. Speaking biologically, we (and other life forms) are hard-wired to procreate when our survival is threatened. Which it is now from environmental stress. My sense is that if we remove the environmental stress, then our population will balance itself naturally.

What do you think?

70% of diseases come from animals. Any epi can tell you that. That is why you can't get near a lot of the monkeys in zoos, and some carry hep C, so they are behind glass and have to be tranquilized to get any medical treatment.

The CDC knows this, which is why they have researchers all over the world, but heavily in places like Africa, where a lot of these diseases crop up.

soficrow
What do you think?

I think that people are, as a group, stupid. Sorry but I do think the planet is over populated.
There are too many people having bunches of kids they can't feed or take care of.
The soil can only provide just so many nutrients.
It's going to be Soylent Green for everyone .. or a massive die off.

(I"m in a mood today ...can you tell?? )

reply to post by FlyersFan


You ARE in a mood. lol Been there. ...I try to think all people have merit, then routinely get disappointed when I keep tripping over the blatant stupidity. But I do keep trying.

...I'll give you that the planet is overpopulated - but - want you to consider the fact that living beings are hard-wired to reproduce when survival is threatened, and review the implications in terms of cause, effect and solution.

imho - we are facing BOTH Soylent Green and at least one massive die off.

Cambodia's MSM says home farming is to blame for bird flu while China's government is protecting Chinese home farmers - and continuing to export live chickens to Hong Kong.

Any opinions?

Home Farming, No Compensation to Blame for H5N1 Rate

…Cambodia has been the country regionally worst affected by bird flu in humans this year… largely due to the difference in poultry farming, an official with the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Tuesday.

Twelve Cambodians have died of H5N1 so far this year, which saw the country’s worst-ever outbreak of the disease, compared to another nine deaths from the virus worldwide.

...policies that were used to stop the disease from spreading in Vietnam and Thailand cannot be copied in Cambodia as the neighboring countries’ poultry is mostly held on commercial farms, making it easier to conduct large-scale culls, said Lotfi Allal, team leader of FAO’s emergency center for transboundary animal disease.

“With 10,000 poultry at a farm, you cull them when you have an outbreak,” Mr. Allal said of the policy in Vietnam and Thailand.

“But managing [the virus] in backyards, we are dealing with free-range poultry who run around villages and transmit it from one poultry to another,” he said, adding that 80 percent of Cambodian poultry are kept in people’s backyards.

H7N9 fails to stop chicken imports

Hong Kong will not stop importing chickens from a poultry farm in Dongguan, despite a three-year-old boy being confirmed with H7N9 bird flu.

…"Most cases found in the mainland are related to poultry wholesale markets, while no evidence has been found that the flu is related to farms that export chickens to Hong Kong."

No flu deal on live chicken, Ko admits

FlyersFan

soficrow
What do you think?

I think that people are, as a group, stupid. Sorry but I do think the planet is over populated.
There are too many people having bunches of kids they can't feed or take care of.
The soil can only provide just so many nutrients.
It's going to be Soylent Green for everyone .. or a massive die off.

(I"m in a mood today ...can you tell?? )

Yes well, it doesn't help now, but if you really look at the hard numbers on population, there are many places where the population is actually falling or getting ready to fall; it's expected to peak in 2030 (provided we survive that long without killing ourselves off).

Most countries hit their population crisis about the time the technology starts to conflict with the survival practice of needing to have many children in order for their to be enough hands to work the family farm for subsistence and to ensure family survival. Eventually, the culture catches up with the technology and you start to have the problems you are seeing in Europe, the US and Japan where you have more older people than you have younger ones and then you have those related demographic issues.

reply to post by nixie_nox


That's like focusing on the upper left-hand corner of the upper right-hand quadrant in a photo - then claiming it's the whole picture. Do you honestly think the answer lies in killing off all the wild animals and sequestering all the domestic ones?

reply to post by ketsuko


Interesting politics playing out in China around H7N9 bird flu. ...The H5N1 bird flu outbreak in Cambodia's Tien Giang province seems to have spread to Kampot province, while the H1N1 swine flu pandemic seems to be gearing up for another wave.

Wet market stays open despite bird flu case

Guangdong will not close a wet market near where a three-year-old boy is confirmed this week to have contracted the H7N9 strain of bird flu, because authorities have to meet "the public's need to eat fresh chicken", a provincial health official says.

The provincial line contrasted sharply with action taken by Shanghai and other regions further north, which closed wet markets after H7N9 was found. …

Yesterday, Dr Zhang Yonghui, visiting director general of the Guangdong centre for disease and prevention, said: "We cannot close down the market as a consensus cannot be reached.

"The situation in Guangdong is different as there have been only sporadic cases so far. There is a traditional culture of eating fresh chicken in southern China, so we have to strike a balance."

The boy, who lived in Dongguan , was confirmed on Tuesday to be infected with H7N9. He had visited a wet market with poultry stalls, but did not come into contact with any birds.

The mainland has confirmed 138 human cases of H7N9 bird flu to date, 45 of them fatal.

Zhang said all seven samples collected from the Dongguan market had tested negative and suggested the child might have been infected elsewhere.

…Guidelines on suspending imports apply only to infections detected in poultry, but not in humans. …

Cambodia reports 24th bird flu case in 2013

A 10-year-old boy from southern Kampot province has been confirmed positive for the H5N1 virus, bringing the number of the cases to 24 so far this year, the World Health Organization and the Cambodian Health Ministry said in a joint statement Friday.

…Cambodia sees the worst outbreak of the virus this year since it was first identified in 2004. To date, the country has reported 45 human cases of the virus, killing 31 people.