2008 Woodie Awards
Bird flu reaches U.S. in southern Texas
Although highly contagious, avian disease has little effect on people
Mark Robertson-Baker II Ranger Reporter
Issue date: 10/6/05 Section: Features
- Page 1 of 1
A Texas farm's 6,600-bird flock has been destroyed by the U.S. government.
The European Union and South Korea have banned any poultry imports from the United States while people are dying from flu-like symptoms in Asia.
The media is throwing the word "strain" around like it's the new slang term of the year. Has the world all gone insane?
In a word, no. The stimulus of such a worldwide panic originates in wild poultry. Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a strain of flu virus that occurs naturally in many wild birds. Domesticated birds are most susceptible to the virus. However, Asia has found that humans also can be affected.
Dr. Ron Dehaven of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said "that it was reclassified and this time it was considered a high-pathogenic form."
Dehaven also let the American public know that the strain found in the United States is not the same strain that has taken the lives of at least 22 people in Asia.
Thailand and Cambodia confirmed bird flu outbreaks on Jan. 24, 2004. Vietnam and Thailand are the first countries in which people have come down with the illness.
Recently, Avian influenza has landed closer to home. The fourth U.S. state affected, Texas, has found the bird flu on a chicken farm about 50 miles east of San Antonio in Gonzales County.
The strain, which has found its way to southern Texas, is a mild form of the virus.
Dr. Nancy Cox of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees.
"The strain found in Texas, while highly contagious, poses little threat to people," Cox said.
State officials first announced that the outbreak was a low-pathogenic version of the bird flu, meaning the risk to humans was small.
The Texas farm's 6,600-bird flock has been destroyed. Some of the flock already had been sent to Houston, however, where it was being sold in a live market.
After the events in southern Texas, the European Union and South Korea have banned any imports of poultry products from the United States. Mexico has banned most U.S. poultry products.
The largest poultry exporter of the United States, Russia, has blocked poultry imports only from Texas but has said it is considering a U.S.-wide band.
Next in line to consider stopping poultry imports from the United States is the Philippines.
Spread by contact or consumption of infected birds, the bird flu is an immediate problem in the United States. While most people are said to be safe from the strain, the U.S. economy doesn't share the same immunities.
Farms and families in Texas and all around the United States should be preparing for whatever sickness may befall the population, somatic or economic.
The European Union and South Korea have banned any poultry imports from the United States while people are dying from flu-like symptoms in Asia.
The media is throwing the word "strain" around like it's the new slang term of the year. Has the world all gone insane?
In a word, no. The stimulus of such a worldwide panic originates in wild poultry. Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a strain of flu virus that occurs naturally in many wild birds. Domesticated birds are most susceptible to the virus. However, Asia has found that humans also can be affected.
Dr. Ron Dehaven of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said "that it was reclassified and this time it was considered a high-pathogenic form."
Dehaven also let the American public know that the strain found in the United States is not the same strain that has taken the lives of at least 22 people in Asia.
Thailand and Cambodia confirmed bird flu outbreaks on Jan. 24, 2004. Vietnam and Thailand are the first countries in which people have come down with the illness.
Recently, Avian influenza has landed closer to home. The fourth U.S. state affected, Texas, has found the bird flu on a chicken farm about 50 miles east of San Antonio in Gonzales County.
The strain, which has found its way to southern Texas, is a mild form of the virus.
Dr. Nancy Cox of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees.
"The strain found in Texas, while highly contagious, poses little threat to people," Cox said.
State officials first announced that the outbreak was a low-pathogenic version of the bird flu, meaning the risk to humans was small.
The Texas farm's 6,600-bird flock has been destroyed. Some of the flock already had been sent to Houston, however, where it was being sold in a live market.
After the events in southern Texas, the European Union and South Korea have banned any imports of poultry products from the United States. Mexico has banned most U.S. poultry products.
The largest poultry exporter of the United States, Russia, has blocked poultry imports only from Texas but has said it is considering a U.S.-wide band.
Next in line to consider stopping poultry imports from the United States is the Philippines.
Spread by contact or consumption of infected birds, the bird flu is an immediate problem in the United States. While most people are said to be safe from the strain, the U.S. economy doesn't share the same immunities.
Farms and families in Texas and all around the United States should be preparing for whatever sickness may befall the population, somatic or economic.