Avian Influenza or Bird Flu

What is it?

The influenza virus comes in three types: A, B and C. Types B and C are found mostly in humans and are generally not severe. Type A influenza viruses can infect all mammals and birds and in some cases can jump from species to species.
Avian flu or bird flu is a type A subtype called H5N1 and is the same virus that has resulted in the mass culling of birds in recent years. This particular strain has circulated among wild and domestic birds since 1959.
As of March 2006, 184 human cases have been reported and 103 of them were fatal. However, with the exception of one possible case, this virus has not yet been proven to spread from person to person.

How does it spread?

There are two dominant theories of how avian flu is transmitted.
- Theory 1: Migratory birds, mostly waterfowl, are responsible for carrying and transmitting the virus.
- Theory 2: Poorly regulated confinement-poultry operations foster and spread the virus.
While there is little debate as to whether some migratory birds carry this virus, scientists argue that it is crowded poultry operations that are the real culprit. Such operations provide ideal conditions for the virus to evolve into a more dangerous form that is capable of jumping from one species.
Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, the region that has been most strongly affected by outbreaks of avian flu, experienced an explosion of confinement operations, with production jumping as much as eightfold in the past several decades.
Furthermore, the virus travels along trade routes, not standard migration routes, from farms to cities, on crates, trucks, clothing, shoes and any other equipment that comes in contact with contaminated manure, soil or litter.

What does this mean for family farmers?

Austria, Canada, China, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine and Vietnam all have enacted various outdoor-poultry bans in response to avian flu.
The United States Department of Agriculture says there are no specific plans for any outdoor poultry bans. Nonetheless, small producers are concerned that similar bans may be instituted if there is a significant outbreak of H5N1 in the US.
Small producers, particularly Asia's small holders who typically make less than US$1 a day, are unable to meet these requirements and many have immediately abandoned their poultry operations.
Poultry farmers in the United States are concerned that the domestic response to avian flu will be more in line with the demands of the multinational poultry companies, four of which dominate the US market at more than 50%, rather than in favor of smaller, independent producers.
The threat of avian flu compounded with the recent case of a cow testing positive for Mad Cow disease have pushed states to adopt a highly controversial National Animal Identification System (NAIS), which many small farmers feel will threaten their privacy and livelihoods.
Furthermore, those organic farmers who are unable to allow their livestock access to the outdoors, as organic standards around the world require, are at risk of losing their organic certification.

What can I do to protect myself and my family?

All of the recorded human cases have been among people who had prolonged exposure to infected birds or manure.
To date no human has been infected from properly handled food. When handling eggs and meat, be sure to cook everything thoroughly and, of course, wash your hands after every preparation.
When handling live poultry or manure, wash your hands frequently and change your clothes and shoes when you leave the farm.
When making food choices, always keep in mind that free-range and organic poultry have an advantage over their caged-raised counterparts in regards to the vitality of their immune systems.

(i) Hillesheim, Ph.D. Lindsey. "Dead Birds Don't Fly: An Avian Flu Primer for Small-Scale Farmers." Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy: Food Safety Project, March, 2006. P5-6
(ii) ibid
(iii) ibid
(iv) "Fowl Play: The Poultry Industry's Central Role in the Bird Flu Crisis." Barcelona, Spain: GRAIN, February 2006. P2-8.
(v) Hillesheim, Ph.D. Lindsey. "Dead Birds Don't Fly: An Avian Flu Primer for Small-Scale Farmers." Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy: Food Safety Project, March, 2006. P3