[ Last edited by sbena at 12/04/2013 08:56 ] Author: wcaptain Time: 12/04/2013 12:45
Live poulty markets in China are a mixer and incubator of bird flu virus. They need to be better managed.
As people like to put wildlife delicacies (e.g. wild ducks in winter and heron nestlings in summer) and duck/chicken together in China, so we get more freq outbreaks of bird flu than other places.
Anyway, banning wild bird trade (no poaching of wild ducks and heron nestlings) is one of the crucial steps to confine bird flu Author: tsheunglai Time: 12/04/2013 22:11
Dear all
From the history of bird flu development, it is quite clear human involvement is heavy, especially in poultry raising management and market sale conditions, and therefore quite enough to explain why it has been China that first found new forms of bird flu.
Wild birds especially migrants generally keep safe distance from domestice populations which is almost a proved case.
Mai Po NR is an excellent example. Daily cheeks in the past years have accumulated up to tens of thousands of examined samples and except some particular periods never proved migrants are sure carriers. Otherwise we should have found dozens or even hundreds of waders dead. It was local wild birds especially urbanised species that easily come into contact with domestic poultry that were found victims of the virus.
Wild birds and especially migrants are victims and not source of bird flu I am almost certain to be the case.
It is up to Mainland Chinese of poulty management and market operators to reflect and improve from their present practice - under the Government's proper guidance and supervision - are vital to lessen if not eliminate the chance of bird flu from periodic general outbreaks.
S L Tai Author: K_Chan Time: 16/04/2013 07:42 Subject: H7N9 - 狐疑 Puzzle
Speaking of H7 avian flu, the following still puzzles me over the decade after the SARS outbreak:
(1) Why the virus found mostly in certain species of wild birds?
(2) Along the flyway back to the south again later this year, which is tipped to have another chance of spreading H7, why not the infection in SE Asia / Southern Chinese Mainland / Taiwan when the flocks fly upward to north from there?
(3) Could the virus not be spead to other mammals like monkey, dogs etc other than to humans?
Over the decade, how much our knowledge on the topic has advanced? How many decades needed still? Or, how well-prepared our clinical gearings for the possible pandemic are? Author: HFCheung Time: 16/04/2013 15:50
