Experts believe H5N1 is caused by our bad habits
by Nick van der Leek
A few months ago I interviewed Professor Robert Bragg at the Free State University Microbiology Department. I asked him whether the demand for junk food – KFC for example – might be factor leading to unhealthy poultry farming. He said no, but we were thinking specifically of those indoor poultry factories. These are usually sealed units and infection from the outside in (or vice versa) is rare.
No, the real source of the H5N1 problem lies in the degree of environmental destruction and degradation caused by the hand of man. Loss of territory forces flocks of waterbirds to fly further to find suitable habitats. It also means these waterbirds come into closer contact with people and other animals than they otherwise would have.
Dr. David Rapport, a Canadian environmental expert also points to the mass production of poultry in open air markets in Asia. To maximize profits birds are tightly packed in cages, and cages are packed tightly in dense urban markets. This creates a template for diseases such as H5N1.
Dr. Robert Hebworth (an expert on migratory animals) has said that culling of infected animals is not a long term solution. Our focus ought to be on restoring thousands of damaged and diminishing wetlands.
5 countries in Africa have reported cases of bird flu: Burkina Faso, Egypt, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. Recently large numbers of dead waterbirds were reported in Botswana’s northern Okavango region.
Fear has been expressed that Africa will not be able to afford the expensive process that is necessary to contain the virus wherever it emerges.
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