May 30 (Bloomberg) -- The fight to stop the spread of deadly bird flu is leading back to farms, health experts say.

Officials looking to contain the avian influenza virus that may spark a human pandemic are downplaying the importance of migrating wild birds as the source of infections among domestic poultry. Farms and poultry traders are the more likely cause of the spread of the flu, which has killed 48 people so far this year, more than all of 2005.

The focus on wild birds has led to misguided attempts to control the virus, Richard Thomas, a spokesman for BirdLife International, a Cambridge, U.K.-based conservation society, said in an interview. New research suggests the wild animals may be getting the virus from farm-based chickens and ducks.

``The disease is spreading more through commercial husbandry and the humans that are moving poultry around,'' said Juan Lubroth, head of infectious diseases at the animal-health service of the Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. ``This is not to say that there's no risk from wild birds, but it is poultry and trade that is primarily responsible.''

Lubroth and scientists from more than 100 countries will meet today in Rome to try to shift the focus of prevention back to the animals that incubate the disease. The H5N1 virus has killed two of every three people infected this year, leading governments around the world to buy antivirals, including Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu, and to sponsor vaccine development. Focusing on controlling the disease in animal populations would be better, the FAO says.

Human Medicine

``We'd be able to do a lot more for human medicine and in a more cost-effective manner than stockpiling medicines or vaccines,'' Lubroth said. ``This isn't to say that this stockpiling isn't important, but there should be enough resources to go around and we haven't seen anything coming in to the FAO or animal health ministries or veterinary services.''

The FAO estimates the amount of money it needs to try to contain the disease has more than doubled to $308 million from just a few months ago because resources haven't been targeted to veterinary services. The organization has only received $71 million in funding as of May 19.

The U.S. government has earmarked $7.1 billion for speeding production of flu vaccines, stockpiling medicines, strengthening surveillance and helping states prepare for a pandemic.

Health officials are worried the lethal H5N1 virus may change into a form easily spread among people, touching off a pandemic similar to the one that began in 1918 in which as many as 50 million people died.

200 Million Fowl

Almost all of the 218 known human H5N1 cases have been linked to close contact with sick or dead birds, according to the World Health Organization in Geneva. Thorough cooking of meat and eggs kills the virus.

About 200 million fowl have been culled or have died of the disease since late 2003, costing countries as much as $15 billion, according to the FAO.

Full Story:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=a334DK66cvUc&refer=asia

Thanks to Zibby Wilder and Monica Engebretson of the Animal Protection Institute for passing this story on to the Avian Welfare Coalition www.avianwelfare.org

Zibby Wilder
Media Relations Director
API - Animal Protection Institute
www.api4animals.org
zibbyw@api4animals.org
916.447.3085 x205
 
Monica Engebretson
Project Director
Animal Protection Institute
www.api4animals.org
www.MoreBeautifulWild.org
www.NationalBirdDay.org

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