whats this chicken diease

[kelly]

whats it all about where did it come from and what damage can it do???

[davet]

there are several of them..the one in asia is very serious in that the virus may change and hit humans...which it has already and may becone very lethal, ie a world wide endemic if it happens...the one in deleware is also a virus but it is limited, so far, to chickens it is werious in that it can decimate the poultry induustry but so far is isolated...the asian one may spread and change characteristics and if irt moves from asia, may be a big big problem

[k9Karen]

Yep, the "chicken flu" in China and Vietnam right now can be passed to humansand is bad news because humans have no immunity to it. The one in the US can't be passed to humans - but watch the chicken prices rise up big time since they are destroying the flocks, so it will affect us.

BTW - there are many diseases that are passed from birds to humans - coccidiosis, Salmonella, Campylbacter, viral encephalitis (although there is a mosquito in the middle for this one), etc.

[kelly]

my granda has battery hens (in a big hen house for collecting eggs) it could really spread in that!!
it really is quite scary all these animal virus and diseases that are about now!!
why are they all coming can change in climate do it???

[k9Karen]

Most of these diseases are cyclical - they occur in regular cycles and show up as expected. They get really bad whenever they spread into something like a confined chicked flock - spreads like wildfire! Fo the same reason flu is so dangerous to humans in a nursing home setting or child day care - lots of susceptible individuals living very close together. The viruses are found naturally in wild birds, and unless there are a large number of deaths in a given area where we would notice a number of dead birds, we usually aren't aware of the infections.

[davet]

and a "battery of hens" is small pickings compared to a county wide, or state wide i8ndustry...i know a battery is important to the owner but state wide is importan to many many more and as Karen say...watch the prices...

[kelly]

10 houses filled with hundreds of hens is pretty important to my granda, it might not be as big as places you have overthere but its his!!!
he even rescues some when they are going to be killed and lets them spend the rest of their life running round a big penned in field!!!
something like this flu thing would break my grandas heart!!!

[k9Karen]

Since diseases like this are spread by migrating birds, it's hard to predict where the next outbreak will be. Have your granda ask his vet about vaccines or anything he may be able to do should the situation arise near you (I'm assuming it isn't there in Ireland or the UK yet - if it is, it's missed the news over here in the US). I suspect there will be something on the vaccine front soon. Animal vaccines do not need to go through the extensive testing that human vaccines need.

You might also consider asking whatever institution or government agency is aware of migratory patterns of birds if any birds migrate from the areas where the infections are prominent to your area. That at least will let you know if there is any immediate threat.