March 06, 2006
They're sure acting that way
al.com: NewsFlash - WHO: Bird flu bigger challenge than AIDS
I mean, they ignored AIDS for ten years, so how big of a deal can it be?
This is a silly statement. Bird flu might become a major health problem. Might not. Even if it is, we'll come up with a vaccine and have antivirals. AIDS is destroying Africa.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 23, 2006
Chickens bite back
Discovery Channel :: News :: Mutant Chickens Grow Teeth
The really disturbing news is that scientists did this on purpose. The chickens grew "grew conical-shaped, alligator-type teeth." Just what we need, chickens that can tear your flesh. Why they did this remains unanswered.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:17 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 30, 2006
Iraq didn't have enough problems
CNN.com - Iraq girl, 15, 'died of bird flu' - Jan 30, 2006
You just know we're going to get blamed for this.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:51 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 13, 2005
I like the headline
CNN.com - Turkey bird flu 'is deadly strain' - Oct 13, 2005
Because you can't tell if they mean the animal or the country. It's the country. Though I assume it's possible that there are turkeys in Turkey that have bird flu.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:53 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 30, 2005
I don't know that I believe them
Biocryst seeks U.S. aid on bird flu drug
So this company wants $10 million from the federal government to develop this drug to treat bird flu sufferers. Seems like a small price to pay, really, but they're not getting it. However, I wonder if the Feds don't know what they're doing. The drug was originally intended to treat ordinary flu sufferers but was ineffective. They're moving to a megadose for bird flu but you can see why the government would be skeptical.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 18, 2005
Because we didn't have enough problems
Bird flu a growing concern for state's health, economy
It hasn't actually appeared here (the last bird flu reported in Alabama was in 1974), and if it does show up it probably won't be the deadly to humans strain, but let's worry about it just in case.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 27, 2005
I like dark meat
al.com: NewsFlash - Researcher finds a way to turn dark chicken meat into white
Also, it's kind of gross:
The recipe involves adding excess water to ground-up dark meat to create a kind of meat soup, then spinning the mixture around in a tub at high speed. The centrifugal force makes the mixture settle into layers of fat, water, and extracted meat, which can be molded into breast-like patties of all-white meat.
It sounds icky. The inventor also compares it to tofu. Horrific.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:14 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 12, 2005
Yum, barbecue!
al.com: NewsFlash - More than 11,000 chickens killed in Panhandle fire
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:03 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 30, 2005
I guess that they don't fly
Shelby draws fire for plan to shoot birds
Hey, I wouldn't want to kill the birds either. But if the airport can't frighten them off there's not much choice here.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:22 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 16, 2005
Damn you, Osama!
al.com: NewsFlash - TB discovered at Jasper chicken processing plant
Just one of those things... Or al-Qaeda's first attack upon Alabama's great poultry industry?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 18, 2005
Boom!
Airport to fire cannon to scare away birds
I guess that if you live near the airport you're already used to loud noises. But wouldn't that work for birds, too?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:48 AM | Comments (2)
April 14, 2005
There's a bird flu blog?
Avian Flu - What we need to know
I love the Internet. Something I should have picked up on:
Avian Flu - What we need to know: Does cockfighting spread avian flu?
Based on a Washington Post story. This might be something the anti-cockfighting forces here can use.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:28 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 08, 2005
She probably saw Survivor last night
CNN.com - Secret Service protects expectant duck - Apr 8, 2005
Disgusting food challenge was eating fertilized duck eggs with half-formed embryos. Yucky, huh?
This duck (a mallard) has a nest right outside the Treasury Building in DC. And the Secret Service is protecting the duck. That's our government for you. They won't protect a species, but they'll make special arrangements for a single critter.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:25 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
February 22, 2005
Yep, we're doomed
al.com: NewsFlash - CDC chief: Bird flu could become epidemic
Actually, it's already an epidemic. She said that it might become an epidemic among humans. And be as deadly as the 1918 flu, which as you probably know killed more people than World War I.
Something I didn't know is that the flu already has jumped to cats in a form that can be transmitted feline-to-feline. If it can happen once, it can happen twice and mutate into a human-to-human transmittable form.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 11, 2005
FUI
USATODAY.com - Drunken birds die en masse
Ah, the dangers of fermented holly berries. About a hundred birds in Columbia, SC got loaded and flew into the side of an office building. About half of them survived.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 02, 2005
Goosed
UAH tries fear to scatter pond's geese
Feeling that there were too many geese and ducks living in their pond, officials at the University of Alabama at Huntsville bought some fake alligators to scare the geese off. Wussies. Buy some real alligators, that'll scare off everything. Trust me, the birds will eventually figure it out.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:44 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 01, 2005
So that's it, we're going to die
Bird Flu Spate Signals Easier Transmission
Has the avian influenza virus mutated? Kevin Drum notices a story that I should have caught. The virus seems to be spreading more quickly to humans now, which might be the first step towards direct human-to-human transmission. (This may have already happened, but there's no proof as yet.) Bird flu has a long incubation period and a high mortality rate once people get it. It could, potentially, make the 1918 epidemic look like a spring cold.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:40 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 27, 2005
How could I pass on this?
CNN.com - Lawmaker wants tiny boxing gloves on roosters - Jan 26, 2005
I mean, tiny boxing gloves? Technically, boxing shoes. An Oklahoma senator is trying to revive cockfighting (banned in that state in 2005), which he calls a "$100-million business", by having the spurs on the roosters' legs replaced by the footies. But that's not all! He also wants to put the birds in electronic vests, to be used to keep score.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:24 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 23, 2005
Remind me not to do that
CNN.com - Bird flu kills Vietnamese man - Jan 21, 2005
Hadn't noticed, but there's another bird flu outbreak in Asia. Seven people have died in the last three weeks -- it's not clear if that's all in Vietnam, like this one, or continent-wide -- of the disease.
The man's younger brother has also tested positive for the virus, and is being treated in hospital.Diu said that a week before the older brother developed a high fever and coughing, the family slaughtered a duck and ate blood pudding made from it.
Duck blood pudding, huh? Not popular in these parts, but whatever floats your duck... uh, boat.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 01, 2004
I didn't think it would
Protected bird won't block Dauphin Island berm
As I figured it would, the Fish and Wildlife Service cleared the Army Corps of Engineers to reconstruct the sand wall on the west end of Dauphin Island. The local director says that the disruption to the piping plover's habitat would be temporary and that the berm will slow the deterioration of the habitat. So the berm goes up. In in six months, or a year, or eighteen months, it will go down again, like the last one, which lasted all of two years.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 29, 2004
They're very cheerful at WHO
WHO aide warns of avian flu pandemic
A worldwide bird flu pandemic among people is "very, very likely" and could kill millions of people, according to Dr. Shigeru Omi of the World Health Organization. And by "millions" I would be erring on the conservative side of his estimate:
"We are talking at least 2 to 7 million, maybe more - 20 million or 50 million, or in the worst case, 100" million, he said.
I'll have more on the subject after I stop whimpering under my desk...
Apparently, other experts had "discussed similar figures privately" but this is the first time one's said so in public. Another expert says that Omi's estimate is "realistic". It really depends upon bird flu mutating into a form which can be spread person to person, or more easily from bird to person, since it's already plenty lethal when caught. A scientist in Pittsburgh thinks that WHO is being far too conservative and the death toll could reach one billion. Back under the desk...
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:33 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Idiotic?
The Federally protected piping plover winters in Dauphin Island and part of the island is a designated habitat for the bird. Now efforts to rebuild the protective sand wall on part of the island are blocked by this, because the Army Corps of Engineers isn't allowed to dump sand in the water where the plovers feed unless Fish & Wildlife grants a waiver. (I'm guessing it will.) Homeowners are upset:
"Because a little bird eats down here a few months out of the year, these houses could fall in the water?" asked... a west-end homeowner. "It's idiotic. These people need the sand more badly than the bird."
Leaving aside that the bird doesn't need the sand but rather to keep the sand away, you know what's idiotic? Building a house on an island that's all sand in the middle of a hurricane zone.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:11 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
November 26, 2004
Oh, no, turkey!
CNN.com - Turkey-truck crash kills three people - Nov 25, 2004
A car drove through a stop sign into the turkey truck. I assume they were killed in the collision and not by falling frozen turkeys, which would be really embarrassing.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 22, 2004
Pharoah's revenge
CNN.com - Locust plague sweeps into Israel - Nov 22, 2004
I'm glad I'm not the only one who caught the parallel:
"It's like the plagues of Egypt," said one resident.
Locusts are kosher, and some people are eating them.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:45 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
November 19, 2004
"As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
CNN.com - Five teens arrested in turkey-hurling incident - Nov 19, 2004
Okay, this one was a frozen turkey, dropped through a windshield. What, cinderblocks aren't good enough for these kids now, they have to use food?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:14 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 15, 2004
Unclean! Unclean!
al.com: NewsFlash - Gov't seeks genetic blueprint for flu
Are we still allowed to look for genetic information of viruses, or is that one of the things that Man Is Not Meant To Know under the Dobsonite government? Still, until NIH is shut down and replaced by the Department of Faith Healing, they're working on mapping the bird flu virus to hopefully help predict possible jumps to humans.
In other flu news Chiron wants British regulators to inspect its vaccine plant to make sure its new bird flu vaccine isn't contaminated like occurred with this year's regular flu vaccine.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 01, 2004
Well, that's something
Tamiflu works against avian flu H5N1 strain
The antiflu drug works against bird flu. That's good, but of course we don't have to worry in the US, because there will always be plenty of flu vaccine.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 31, 2004
No big worry
WHO Calls Summit to Address Flu Pandemic
I'm sure that if there were a potentially deadly worldwide flu pandemic, we here in the United States would have an ample supply of vaccine.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 30, 2004
Quack attack
The New York Times > International > Asia Pacific > Bird Flu Spread Tied to Ducks, Not Humans
Those damned ducks, spreading diseases to which they're immune. People in Asia have been warned to not "keep ducks as pets, let them into houses or drink from ponds they use". Just to be on the safe side, I won't be doing any of those things either.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:04 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 19, 2004
Good one, Thailand
CNN.com - 23 tigers die in bird flu outbreak - Oct 19, 2004
Apparently, the people at a private zoo decided to feed infected chickens to the tigers there. 23 are dead, and 30 more are sick. Kind of stupid, really. I mean, people dying is a tragedy, but there are lots of people (more every day), while tigers are rare and cost money.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 28, 2004
We've heard that before
Thai Bird Flu Case Probably First From Human Contact
A woman died of avian influenza in Thailand a week ago yesterday. Apparently, she got the disease from her daughter. I should point out that we've had other reports of person-to-person bird flu transmission and they haven't held up. WHO's representative in Thailand quotes Douglas Adams: "Don't panic." Long-term, close contact is needed for bird flu to spread from person to person.
At least so far. The real concern with this disease is that it could mutate into a form which spreads more easily between humans. Other forms of influenza -- notably the 1918 strain that killed between 20 and 40 million -- started out the same way.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 20, 2004
What kind of bait are you using?
CNN.com - Zookeepers 'fish' for 12-foot alligator - Sep 17, 2004
Chickens? As it turns out, yes, chickens.
Chucky the Alligator, from the Gulf Coast Zoo, is still loose. He's 12 feet long and weighs half a ton, and for some reason wasn't evacuated with most of the animals when the storm approached. Also left behind were other alligators, deer, and some chickens, which I assume Chucky has already eaten.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 03, 2004
Eat the beetles
Owls use dung to "fish" for beetles
A burrowing owl in China uses dung to attract dung beetles to its nest, then eats them. It's not clear if they use their own dung or dung they just find anywhere. At any event, I suppose someone has to eat dung beetles and I'm glad it isn't me.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 18, 2004
Now what rhymes with "duck"?
Alaska Researchers Try to Breed Rare Ducks
Seventeen ducks (ten male and seven female) from the species called "Steller's eider" were collected from the Alaska Peninsula and the Aleutians last year. Scientists hope that the birds will get it on and make baby ducks (aw, baby ducks!) so the species will live on in Alaska, where there are now only about 500 pairs. Scientists don't know why the species has declined in recent years (by about half in the last three decades) but I'd guess that old culprit Homo sapiens has something to do with it.
(Congratulations to the Tuscaloosa News, by the way, which for once didn't read "Alaska" as "Alabama" and put this in the "State" section.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 17, 2004
Hello, breakfast!
Yahoo! News - New Bird Species Found in Philippines
The "Calayan Rail" is not, as you'd think, a train, but a flightless bird species. There are 100-200 pairs of the bird, and it's basically similar to another species found in Okinawa, though that one can fly a little... There are lots of flightless bird species on Pacific islands, albeit fewer than there were before people (and rats, cats, and dogs) came along. Since mammals generally can't reach these islands without human assistance, birds have tended to fill mammalian ecological niches.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:38 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 09, 2004
Nothing ever goes away
Bird Flu Outbreak Prompts Poultry Ban
This time the outbreak is in South Africa and the victims are ostriches. 6000 of the birds have died in the past three weeks, and there are about 30,000 in the afflicted area. The strain is less dangerous than the one that hit in Asia earlier this year.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 20, 2004
Sort of
KFC supplier accused of animal cruelty - Jul. 20, 2004
It's not that the supplier (Pilgrims' Pride) had a policy of animal cruelty, it's that it didn't control its employees, who were filmed by PETA in various acts of animal cruelty. Still, it's pretty awful stuff.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 19, 2004
There are two ways of looking at it
CNN.com - No letup for firefighters in California - Jul 19, 2004
You could see this as a fire caused by a bird hitting power lines. Or you could see it as a fire caused by people putting power lines where birds are flying. After all, the birds were flying around tens of millions of years before power lines.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 13, 2004
The ones by my apartment left
CNN.com - U.S. duck population drops by 11 percent - Jul 13, 2004
This one can't be blamed on people, at least not directly. It's a result of drought drying up breeding grounds. Well, that wouldn't be such a problem if humans hadn't already drained so many breeding grounds, but we've done worse. And will again.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 12, 2004
They're up to something
CNN.com - Where have all the pelicans gone? - Jul 12, 2004
Normally, Chase Lake, ND is a pelican hot spot. This year, they left in April, leaving their eggs behind, and nobody's sure why. Maybe they'll come back next year. As long as they're not diving into any roads.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 09, 2004
Pelicans? Not that bright
Some Pelicans Mistaking Asphalt for Lakes
Seemingly that would be hard to do. But apparently the heat shimmer makes the roads look like lakes, and pelicans aren't smart enough to realize that there aren't very many long, straight, narrow lakes. So they try to dive-bomb for fish and end up roadkill -- or at least roadhurt -- without even the help of a car.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:39 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 08, 2004
The Cormorant Problem
Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here, the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you're the cause of all this. I think you're evil! Evil!
Too many birds threaten islands
Islands on Guntersville Lake (northern Alabama) have been overrun -- well, not overrun, they're birds, but "overflown" means something else -- with cormorants. The birds have overfished the area, outcompeted smaller birds, and deposited so much guano they've killed off the trees on one island. (The island eroded away without tree cover.) The reporter seems to blame a lack of DDT or something: "cormorant populations have rebounded nationally in recent years." The Alabama Wildlife Federation is considering asking the US Agriculture Department to take steps.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:41 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 17, 2004
Too much for her
Attack Buzzard Dies Dive-Bombing Van
This buzzard in England would attack cyclists -- did it more than 20 times. And really, who can blame her? Guys, if you have to wear those tights on your legs, fine, but put some pants on over them.
Unfortunately, the bird tried to take on a van, and the van won.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:35 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 15, 2004
Kind of petty, really
Nine Birds Stolen From Wis. Aviary
Eight of the birds are common as dirt -- five quail and three pheasants. The ninth is a screech owl and might be harder to replace. At any rate, there's not much money in this. My expectation is that you'll find a college student is responsible. And that the birds were delicious.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:03 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 21, 2004
Parrot day
Yahoo! News - Woman Arrested Carrying 266 Dead Parrots
She apparently was going to sell their feathers for use in black magic. None of the birds were Norwegian Blues.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:48 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
For the birds
British Company Makes DVD for Parrots
The World Parrot Trust put together an 80 minute DVD neglectful parrot owners can use to keep their birds entertained while they're off doing whatever it is English people do in their spare time. As always (when it comes to parrots) Monty Python was there first.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:09 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 28, 2004
Two for one
Eagle Attacks, Carries Off Bear Cub
Apparently, eagles are on our side in the battle against ursine insurrection. Norwegian experts were monitoring a bear family Sunday when they saw (to their surprise, because they'd never seen such a thing before) an eagle swoop down and carry off -- in full view of the mother -- a six or seven pound bear cub. Norwegian bears were thought to have no natural enemies.
In was not clear what happened to the cub after the eagle flew off with it in the Lierene area of Nord-Troendelag county, 450 miles north of Oslo.
I can guess. Lunch.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 16, 2004
Born to eat wild
Weston restaurant owner charged with buying wild meat
The owner of the "Pacific Island" restaurant purchased wild ducks, white-tailed deer, bear and snook from undercover agents of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. I don't know what "snook" are but I'm guessing it's a fish which would mean that this goes in all three "pundit" categories.
The defendant says that he didn't feed any of this to his patrons, and that it was only used to feed his employees. Uh-huh.
(Offensive and overly intrusive registration required. Better use email address mac at warliberal dot com, password warliberal.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:30 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 14, 2004
Bird to your mutha
Rappin' raptors reunite with mamas and papas
Apparently, if you record the various chirps of a baby raptor and then play them really loud, its parents come flying. I can't say that this comes as too big of a surprise. Anyway, sometimes the baby birds get separated from their parents for whatever reason, and conservation officers need to reunite them. Hence, baby bird screeching at high volume.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 29, 2004
Department of bad symbolism
Personally, if I were 83 years old and 100 vultures had decided to make my yard their winter home, I'd be just a little nervous.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 07, 2004
Art? Art?
Cockfighting: Some see art, others savagery
Nothing more artistic than seeing a bird peck another bird to death. The state's cockfighting ban is doing wonders, really. Only a couple of bird trainers were willing to be quoted at length describing their methods in this story.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bird Flu update
Mainland resumes Macao chicken exports
Bird flu seems to have settled down in Asia. There haven't been any reports of major new outbreaks recently and as the weather warms up I assume the worst has passed. Until next year.
Avian Flu Found on Maryland Chicken Farm
No surprise that it would show up in Maryland after being spotted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey already. It's the same strain and supposedly not a problem for humans.
Poultry News: Avian Influenza in Canada - Brought to you by ThePoultrySite
Press release. This was British Columbia and I guess related more to the periodic outbreaks in California than anywhere else.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 05, 2004
Blaming Canada -- again
The Sardonic Subversive: They weren't carrying f#$%ing passports...
Six Canada Geese were hit by an airliner in Texas. Except that the FAA calls them "Canadian Geese". Or maybe they were Canadian geese by nationality? You can't trust Canadian birds. We may have to close the border.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:33 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
February 26, 2004
Curlyhowardsaurus
Caption: "This artist's rendering shows what researchers think the carnivorous dinosaur may have looked like." Apparently, it was very flat and spun around on its side.
CNN.com - Two new dinosaur species found in Antarctica - Feb. 26, 2004
They're not new of course. They're 70 million years old! They mean new to us. One was a man-size carnosaur (pictured), the other another enormous plant-eater.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:53 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 25, 2004
Hawks are not inside animals
Hawk Feeds on Pigeons at Ohio Home Depot
I knew those warehouse-type stores were trouble. A hawk has moved inside a Cleveland Home Depot in order to chase down a pigeon, then stayed to hunt the pigeons that already lived there. Wildlife experts say that when the pigeons are all gone the hawk will move on.
One pigeon was caught and dispatched in the electrical aisle. Says an assistant manager, "Some of the customers were upset. Some said it was the neatest thing they had ever seen." I wish I could have seen it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:04 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 24, 2004
Poor monkeys
Scientists Test Potential of Bird Flu
They're testing on monkeys to see how the bird flu virus behaves in the human body. Then they're going to see if combining the bird flu virus with normal human flu will cause a combination. Of course, you know what happens next. The virus will mutate, the monkey will escape, and we'll all die. We've seen this movie.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 18, 2004
Bird Flu spreads
Thailand report ends hope of limiting spread of bird flu
Bird flu is "resurgent" in Thailand and has spread to seven new areas in China, including Tibet. The Thai cases are apparently the result of fighting cocks that weren't culled because their owners wouldn't turn them over. Meanwhile, in a zoo east of Bangkok, a leopard has died and a tiger is now recovering from the virus. Among humans, the death toll is now 22. Japan was going to declare itself free of the disease but it's popped up again.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 16, 2004
So we'll be fine
Vaccine could be made quickly if Asian bird flu goes global, U.S. officials say
If we actually do develop a vaccine for the new bird flu strain, it could be manufactured quickly and in quantity. Health officials say they could make the needed 270 million doses to protect Americans if the flu jumps to humans and reaches pandemic status. Asians, I suppose, are on their own. The manufacture would take the same amount of time as the usual number of doses they make for flu. And we never run out of those, do we?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 13, 2004
Bird flu update
Bad news all around:
WHO:Chances of Recovery From Bird Flu 'Not Good'
They don't have much information yet (ten victims in Vietnam) but it appears that the incubation period for avian influenza in humans is 2-4 days, and only one of the ten has recovered from the disease. We can't tell yet -- and maybe mild cases aren't recognized and treated -- but an 80-90 percent fatality rate is possible. This makes SARS look... well, like a cold.
Pennsylvania Becomes Latest US State to Report Outbreak of Bird Flu
When New Jersey and Delaware reported it, Pennsylvania was only a matter of time. It's still the strain first reported in Delaware, far less virulent and apparently not a danger to humans. Asian countries that already have bird flu are still banning US imports of poultry, and if that makes sense to you please explain it to me.
Reuters AlertNet - World Bank lends flu-hit Vietnam farmers $10 mln
I guess that will help. The government's giving out about $1 per destroyed bird, though, and 30 million have already been culled. The entire Vietnamese poultry industry is in danger.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:15 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 12, 2004
New Jersey joins the fun
WUAL: Bird Flu Found at NJ Live Poultry Markets- Report (2004-02-12)
A (reportedly non-harmful to humans) strain of avian influenza has shown up at four poultry markets in New Jersey. It's the same strain as showed up in Delaware. The live poultry markets are popular among Hispanic immigrants who -- silly immigrants! -- prefer fresh poultry. Apparently, this isn't a really uncommon occurrence -- state officials say that they find bird flu at about 40 percent of live poultry markets.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:19 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 08, 2004
$50 fines
How seriously does Alabama take its ban on cockfighting? So seriously that a breeder comes out in a big story in the Mobile Register, that's how seriously. So seriously that a cockfighting "advocacy group" says that Alabama is the top state for breeding fighting roosters. So seriously, in fact, that the symbol of the state Democratic Party is not a donkey but a rooster. That is, not seriously at all.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tweet. Tweet. Cough.
CNN.com - Bird flu hits U.S., poultry culled - Feb. 8, 2004
A flock of 12,000 chickens in Delaware was hit. US poultry exports to Japan and South Korea have been suspended. That's kind of odd, since they already have bird flu in those countries.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 07, 2004
WHO said that
WHO: Bird Flu Not Transmitted from Person to Person
The WHO now says that the two sisters in Vietnam who supposedly caught the virus from their brother did not, that they got it from chickens. They also say that the report that pigs in Vietnam have been discovered to be carrying the virus is overblown. They better be right; supposedly pigs are "a perfect vessel for the avian and human forms of the virus to mix and swap genes."
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:23 AM | Comments (0) |