Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
reining in the pale horse
the chief of virology at hong kong's queen mary hospital believes
that
“the cause and solution [of the highly pathogenic H5N1
avian influenza virus] lies within the poultry industry.”
the
diagram below, from the u.s. department of interior's august
2005 report on the bird flu threat, illustrates the
key role
domestic poultry play in the development of pandemic influenza.
all influenza viruses start in waterfowl, but there does not seem
to be direct spread from the natural duck reservoir directly to
mammals or humans; domesticated fowl are required as the
stepping stone. the most a wild duck virus seems to be able to
do to a person is cause a mild case of pinkeye. . .
spread wing to
wing, the number of chickens killed every day would wrap more
than twice around the world's equator.
—michael greger, m.d., excerpted from bird flu: a virus of our own hatching
domestic
fowl
natural
reservoir
mammals
(primarily swine)
waterfowl
shorebirds
humans
humans
possible transmission pathways for avian influenza.
ple every minute. Only one virus, though, is known to be capable of
infecting billions: influenza.
Influenza has been referred to as “last great plague of man,”
the germ known capable of triggering a global catastrophe. Unlike
other devastating infections like malaria, which is largely confined
around the equator, or HIV, which is only fluid-borne, influenza is
the only virus capable of infecting literally half of humanity in a
matter of months. For the 4,500 years since wild birds were first
