Bird Flu

[sunny-dave]

This is a potentially huge problem, which seems to have been pretty much ignored by the media in their feeding frenzy over Westminster Politics :

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2j0pegnm5mo

It could make chicken and eggs almost unaffordable and turkeys only for the super-rich (and well connected) at Christmas.

There are interesting arguments for/against vaccination :

https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/should-we-vaccinate-against-bird-flu

With another site summarising the ant-vaccine argument as :

"While avian flu vaccines are currently available, they are not being used on a large scale on poultry farms because this hinders the ability to conduct surveillance testing, which helps detect the virus in unvaccinated flocks and limit the spread of the disease"

Anyone fancy a break from politics to have a read and a comment?

[douglas9401]

I would suggest that, as in previous outbreaks, forecasts of shortages and even the falling of the sky tend to overstate the issue.

This is not to dismiss costs and hardships endured by producers but these things do tend to pass.

Anyway, we have beef at Christmas.

[Untitled]

Uk agriculture is having an awful time of things at the moment… this really is not what they need. Eggs are also a relatively cheap and nutritious food and are a lifeline at a time when cost of living is soaring…

if things in general were ok then i’d say mass vaccination might be a bit hasty but in the current circumstances this is likely to cause a great deal of hardship if it isn’t controlled. Unfortunately the cost of vaccination will likely be passed on to the consumer anyway but it seems like the best possible form of damage limitation

[Old_Geezer]

If vaccination isn't good enough for chickens, it ain't good enough for humans either. How can they monitor the spread of flu in humans if we all go off getting vaccinated ?

[sunny-dave]

Human Flu is already endemic in the UK and Europe, Old_Geezer - Bird Flu isn't - which means it's still possible to pursue a track and eradicate policy, which would be impossible with mass bird vaccination.

Whether we're now at a point where you up on eradication and move to perpetual vaccination is a tricky question - the costs would be huge (and permanent). Whether the eventual cost would be less than a mass cull this year is ... unclear.

[Old_Geezer]

Have we not had Bird Flu in past years ? Eradication seems unlikely then. Still the industry hopefully knows better than I.

[Untitled]

i don’t get the impression that eradication is possible from your two links dave due to the flaws in existing vaccines and the differing eu/uk jurisdictions… but mitigation should certainly be possible

[Bazile]

Where's Edwina Currie

She'll sort it out

[sunny-dave]

Yes, Untitled - keep all flocks indoors, good bio-security and slaughter any outbreaks - that's always worked before to mitigate the worst outbreaks - I wonder if this time is any different?

Is the pressure to vaccinate really coming from farmers or from pharma?

[lankeela]

As with the common cold and many other conditions there are a lot of different strains so vaccinating against the right one is not so simple.

[Buenchico]

Every house around where I live has received a letter from the Animal and Plant Agency, instructing us all to keep our poultry indoors.

However, as the only chicken in my house comes from Morrisons, I don't think that I'll find it too difficult really ;-)