Chile finds swine flu in turkeys

Chile finds swine flu in turkeys

www.reuters.com

Chile detected the H1N1 swine flu virus in turkeys, authorities said, the first time the virus has been found outside humans and pigs, but said there was no indication the disease had spread to other parts of Chile.

The country's farming and livestock agency SAG said on Thursday the flu outbreak had been controlled at the two farms 75 miles west of the capital Santiago and notified the World Organization for Animal Health.

"We call on the public to consume turkey products with confidence," a SAG statement said. It added that laboratory results ruled out the presence of H5N1 or bird fl

(visit the link for the full news article)

If it has adapted to go to turkey's...
How long before it unstoppable folk's?

Just asking i got no idea here.



www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 21-8-2009 by TheAmused]

Does this not basically say..

That bird are now catching this flu strain.
So it has adapted.
So what if it start's and chickens get it?

Our food supply is gonna get scary fast.

It may be what's about to happen.
Bird's..Pig's..Next cow's with catch it...
Thus world wide shortage maybe?
Idk just saying it is possible.

Are the turkey's falling dead? This may be some indicator of whether this flu is really as deadly as they are making it out to be.

reply to post by ExPostFacto


The article states that the turkeys are only showing mild symptoms.

reply to post by TheAmused

So what if it start's and chickens get it?

Our food supply is gonna get scary fast.

The food supply should probably be the least of your concerns. Pigs are infected and you can still get some pork chops. This shouldn't have any affect on the food we consume.

The bigger problem is that if turkeys can get infected, then it really is just a matter of time before a more migrational species of bird contracts it. This will have a huge potential for the bird to human transmission of Avian flu.

I really hope that we don't end up living out "The Stand", because it is starting to feel like a distinct possibility.

What are the odds that it will mutate into deadlier version of the current strain? Do we have any statisticians that could give us some numbers? Has anyone else heard of it crossing species other than this turkey crossover?

It states in the article that these turkeys are specifically raised for egg laying. Reproduction. They also stated that if it had been turkeys for consumtion,.......

"My understanding is that with the ones that were sick, it was a very mild disease," Lubroth said. "It's significant in that we don't need to recommend any drastic measures, as far as culling the population of turkeys. Let them go through their illness and recover — seven to 10 days — and if they are sound and healthy, they could enter the food chain."

The vet says there weren't any turkeys sick that were for consumption, YET.

Well we know that if they do they're gonna eat em anyway! lol

The virus is a cross of human pig and bird flu, so this is not a shock, although, I would like more info. I know that people are now being told they have swine flu, but they are not all getting swabbed for lab results, it's too expensive for the hospitals, so a good percentage of information out there is speculative at best.
Just more scare tactics if you ask me.

Here's why this story should be getting way more coverage than it has so far. As it stands right now, the "Bird Flu" H5N1 which has been seen heavily in the Asian countries among poultry hasn't made the jump to become easily contractible by humans. Of the several hundred humans who have become infected by it (almost all of them poultry workers), it has displayed a 60% mortality rate, 60%! H1N1, however, has displayed a mortality rate far lower than even that of the seasonal flu... but it's infection rate is ridiculously high, managing to transmit itself to virtually anyone who comes in contact with the virus. Reports list both H5N1 and H1N1 as being extremely unstable and susceptible to mutations, including exchanging genetic material with other flu strains.

This is where this turkey story comes in and, honestly, is the first report about H1N1 that has actually frightened me. The fact that H1N1 is now actively infecting birds, presumably from a human carrier, means that the gap between H5N1 and the elusive "quick infection route" into humans is essentially bridged. All that has to happen now is for the H1N1 virus to infect a poultry farm which already is carrying the Bird Flu H5N1 virus and every ingredient for mutation is present. Even worse, viruses, like all living creatures, mutate traits which help them fulfill primary objectives of life (obtain food, protection from threats, and reproduction of the species). H5N1 has a slow burn rate, which means those who have managed to contract it go about their business for awhile before knowing they're even sick. A side effect of this seems to be a massive amount of damage to their system, causing death in 60% of them so far. H1N1, on the other hand, has a quick fuse, going from healthy to feeling sick in a couple days, to feeling better a couple days after that, and it does relatively little real damage to the carrier's system. Flip a coin... if you were a virus would you rather remain infectious for a shorter time and leave your host relatively unscathed at the end, or remain virulent for a longer time, but see the death of the host? I'm guessing the longer virulent period will win that mutation lottery, but I really hope I'm wrong.