All this week, May 14 - May 20 -- "Bird Flu on the Way" : "Bird Flu on the Way": Last day of the Forum, Saturday's Topic: If we could agree on one message about H5N1, what would it be?

TODAY'S TOPIC:

Out of all that has been said this week, if there were just one message, about H5N1, that we could convey to people, what do you feel it ought to be?

If we all, and our various organizations could speak with one voice, what would we say?

Would we say, "Don't worry about H5N1, but do be alert!"?

Or, "If you have to cull chickens, it must be done humanely."

Or, "Do not kill any animals. They are innocent and should not be harmed."

Or, "Dear Government Officials, please tell us your plan for the birds and animals. If we don't know what it is, how can we make preparations?"

Is there something you would really lke to say, or something that you feel needs to be heard?

Please let us know what your message would be to people about H5N1-- and what is the reason you feel that message is important?

These are two messages, sent by email, from Dr. Krishna, of Blue Cross of India, who has been unable to join us on the Forum.

The first message he had sent earlier, and I apologize that it hasn't gone up until now. In this message, Dr. Krishna answers the question, "If you could write about the situation in India when H5N1 first arrived, that would be very helpful:

Dr.Chinny Krishna: Bird Flu finally arrived in India in March 2006 in Jalgoan District of Maharashtra in Western India. Over a million birds were slaughtered in the most barbaric conditions. The National Egg Co-ordinating Committee, a front for Venkateswara Hatcheries - India's largest producer of chicken - held and financed dozens of "Chicken is safe" demonstrations where free chicken items were distributed with politicians eating chicken for the cameras.

That avian flu is a serious concern, there can be no doubt. However, we must realize that the conditions in over-crowded factory farms are ideal breeding grounds for such infections. Over-stressed birds in such horrific living conditions, their systems weakened by heavy doses of antibiotics given routinely; their immune systems severely compromised by stress and the toxic chemicals they are exposed to; being subjected to levels of ammonia so high that it can be smelt a hundred meters away; these are the root cause of the outbreaks of H5N1 reported so far.

Less than one hundred people have died from avian flu since the H5N1 disease was first noticed in 1977 but millions of dollars are being committed by governments to purchase and use oseltamavir - knowing fully well that it is virtually useless for avian flu.

Try and find out who benefits from the sale of Tamilflu and the answers become clear. Companies are creating immense wealth for their shareholders by using irresponsible media personnel who do not let facts stand in the way of a good story. Where big money is involved, reality takes a back seat. The late John Kenneth Galbraith, one of the most respected economists the USA has produced, wrote about the military-industrial complex. The modern pharmaceutical industry is right up there with the armament industry to make money in any way possible, forget about "collateral damage"

Dr. Krishna's second message:

"It is 42 degrees (106 deg Farenheit) here and with power outages and server failures, things are difficult. The "dog days" end on May 28
but in the meantime, yes - I have tried to post my comments but have not succeeded."

Dr. Krishna, thank you very much for your first comment above, which gives a very clear picture of the arrival of H5N1 in India, and the terrible consequences to the birds.

Over the past week of the Forum, many of the points you raised were brought up, almost word for word, by a number of our other Forum Guests. It really is helpful to have the perspective of someone who has lived in a country where H5N1 has already arrived.
Your thoughts and your description were very clarifying.

We all wish you, the animals at Blue Cross, and all the other animals and people there, the best in the extreme heat. We hope that it will cool down a bit, and that you will all be alright.

To me, one of the most disturbing aspects of this bird pandemic is that the US government is doing very little to educate bird keepers about what they can do to prevent their birds from being culled. People are confused, don't know what measures to take, and some think it's hopeless: that the government will kill their birds no matter what they do.

Another disturbing aspect of this silence is that it sets up factory farming to take over. The same facilities that may be responsible for creating viruses like these.

We must get the word out about biosecurity and encourage our government leaders to publish clear guidelines about what they plan to do and what people can do to save their birds from the government, much less bird flu itself... Sometimes I wonder which is the greatest risk. I lean toward culling.

Thanks for listening.

Crazychicken,

Absolutely! The government has issued a report that is a plan for humans in the event of a pandemic.
You can have a look at it here:
http://network.bestfriends.org/Library/Default.aspx?g=5cfd9cc439eb49b7b1ff498527e76205

I admit that I haven't read every word, but I didn't see anything in it about animals--neither cats and dogs, nor farm animals, nor wildlife.

During this Forum many people have been trying to find out how to protect their animals, and we've all been asking each other what the government's plans are because we don't know. We need to ask the people who are making the plans.

For example, if I have two parrots, and there is an industrial chicken farm two miles from me, how do I best protect my two parrots from being culled?

If the virus comes to the US, and if some of the chickens die from H5N1, what are the governments plans in relation to my two parrots?

Will all birds within a five mile radius be culled? Will outdoor birds only be culled? Will only birds who have not be previously tested be culled?

Some of us have guessed at an answer by saying that probably parrots would only be quarantined. But do we know that for sure, or is that a wishful thought? It is certainly a good thought. If only the world operated on good thoughts!

Asking that the official plans for all animals be made
public is not at all an outlandish request. We need to know what agency would be in charge of culling and what guidelines would be followed, in order to make any sensible preparations for our animals.

Even if H5N1 never comes anywhere near the US, there most likely will be another disaster at some point; maybe something along the lines of Exotic Newcastle's Disease in California, Arizona and Nevada in 2003, in which over four million birds were killed, including some parrots.

So if we were looking for one practical, sensible message, I would vote for asking govenment agencies, "Please publish the plans for animals that will be put into effect in the case of H5N1, or other diseases or disaster."

Hello, Everyone,

We have come to the close of the week and the close of the Forum “Bird Flu on the Way.”

Thank you to all of you who’ve been a part of it! Thank you for making it a very interesting and informative discussion!

There was a power outage last night at Best Friends, so we were unable to close the Forum last night, and we are closing it this morning.

As mentioned yesterday, the Forum will remain up for another two or three days, so if you have a thought you need to add, you'll still be able to do that.

Any comments or suggestions you may have would be much appreciated. Please send them to the Community Manager (in the list to the right). Also if you feel that any part of a question you posted may have been overlooked, please send that too, and we'll see that you receive a reply.

A few of the Forum Guests were unable to join us.

Dr. Dana of TMAWT sent word that their veterinary team had been called away on an emergency to a location in the interior of Sri Lanka where there is no internet access.

Dr. Redig was teaching an intensive course all week. Gene Bauston of Farm Sanctuary is kept busy traveling most of the time, as is Karen Davis of United Poultry Concern, and they weren't able to join us.

We thank them for all that they do to help animals, wish them well, and hope that they may be able to join us on another occasion.

Our profound thanks to our Forum Guests who have been so very generous with their time, energy and expertise! They are an extraordinary group of people:
Merritt Clifton of Animal People,
Amy Corrigan of ACRES, Singapore,
Nicole Forsyth of United Animal Nations,
Dr. Chinny Krishna of Blue Cross of India
Eileen McCarthy of MAARS,
Dr. Stewart Metz of Project Bird Watch/ the Indonesian Parrot Project, and
Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, author of “FOWL! Bird Flu, It isn’t what you think.”

They each have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom gained from working with, and on behalf of, the animals we all care about. They've given us a lot to think about, and we thank them!

Thank you to all of you who joined us either by reading quietly or by offering your comments, questions, and insights!

We trust that our continuing search for knowledge of H5H1 will be of help to the animals.

Thank you, everyone, for your love of animals!

Sharon

Sharon St Joan
Bird and Wildlife Outreach Coordinator
Best Friends Animal Society

On behalf of Acres, I would just like to say a big thank you to Sharon and all those at Best Friends for arranging and hosting the forum.

I am sure we have all learned a great deal from sharing our thoughts and experiences - we certainly have- and the information provided by the vets and medical experts has been very helpful in making a lot of the aspects of the disease more understandable.

We look forward to more such forums in the future!

I just got this news wire... Did anyone else see this??

Bird Flu Pandemic Now Imminent; All Citizens Urged to Immediately Stockpile Food and Water

FULLERTON, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/19/2006 -- As clusters of human bird flu cases continue to rise in Indonesia, it's becoming apparent that the bird flu virus has now mutated into a form that is more adaptable to humans. Spotting human "clusters" of infected cases is known as an early warning sign that a virus has acquired the capability of being passed more efficiently among humans. Since this new super flu virus has a fatality rate of 78% in Indonesia, a highly contagious human strain could result in a truly horrific outcome for the general public.

It's important to know that we will have no official warning when the pandemic has begun. The initial wave of infected human cases, which is known as "wave one, " will impact the public in a way that could only be described to a type of invisible tsunami.

The current most widely used antiviral treatment used on influenza viruses is a drug known as Tamiflu, which is in very short supply. During a recent outbreak in Turkey, the surviving bird flu patients were treated with Tamiflu at an increased dosage of 75mg x2. There is no documented proof to date that suggests that a patient can survive without any treatment whatsoever. Natural recovery of this virus may not be possible.

In addition, you can expect all essential services to be disrupted including utilities, water and transportation. People will either be too sick or too scared to attend their jobs. This means that there will be no deliveries to places such as stores, restaurants and gas stations. Once the stores have been depleted of their supplies, it may be a very long time before the store shelves are restocked. Starvation will be a major issue during this type of pandemic.

People who depend on various medications will no longer be able to obtain them. Like everything else, all deliveries to pharmacies will stop. From cancer patients to diabetics, medication will not be available. Pharmacy locations could potentially become epicenters of violent situations.

Here is what to do:

Begin buying extra food and water today. If you can hold out in your homes and minimize human contact, then you have an increased chance of avoiding infection. Since there will be no deliveries to stores, this will also prevent the possibility of starvation. Time is now of the essence and those who don't begin buying extra supplies today may lose their chance in the very near future.

If you depend upon medication, request from your doctor to immediately obtain future supplies.

There are other steps that can be taken to increase your chances of survival. For more information on what to do, we would strongly encourage all citizens to visit this very proactive online discussion forum whose members are working together to educate the public. This website can be viewed at www.Avianflutalk.com

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Contact Information:
Jim Henry
1 (714) 381.1020
2461 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Suite 200
Fullerton, CA 92831

I would like to remind everyone that this Forum is an information clearing house for varying viewpoints. The Forum is now officially closed; however, comments may still be posted for another couple of days. All points of view are welcome. Best Friends Animal Society does not endorse or support any of the viewpoints expressed on this site.