By Stephanie Schupska
University of
Georgia
When farmers flooded the annual Sunbelt Expo in Moultrie
recently, Mike Lacy was ready. He stacked information about the
Asian bird flu on the University of Georgia College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ table and prepared for
questions.
The informational pamphlets are part of a communication effort
being launched by the college, the state’s poultry industry and
government agencies.
Asian bird flu, also known as H5N1 or avian influenza, now
controls television time and newspaper pages previously
reserved for hurricane discussion. According to Lacy, the
information being reported often goes a bit overboard.
“Many media reports on the Asian bird flu lead readers to
believe that a human pandemic is imminent,” said Lacy, head of
the CAES poultry science department. “That is not the case.”
Currently, the virus that causes Asian bird flu doesn’t easily
infect humans, he said. The only known human cases are 100
people in Thailand and Vietnam who had direct contact with
live, infected poultry.
The disease moved from birds to humans in these cases because
most poultry in Southeast Asia is produced in open backyards or
villages. In contrast, poultry production in the U.S. protects
birds from diseases much better than traditional systems such
as free-running chickens.
“Most experts agree that the chances of Asian bird flu becoming
a major human health issue are remote at best,” Lacy
said. “Nevertheless, public health officials, scientists and
the poultry industry are all working hard to assure the public
is protected even from the remote chance that Asian bird flu
mutates in such a way to easily infect humans.”
Don Hamilton, CAES Homeland Security coordinator, said the
college is working with industry and government agencies, like
the Georgia Committee on Agriculture and Food Defense, to
provide consistent information on Asian bird flu. The committee
consists of representatives from the University of Georgia,
Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Poultry Federation,
USDA and other relevant agencies.
With poultry and table eggs holding top spots in Georgia’s
agricultural economic sector, at No. 1 and No. 5 respectively,
anything that could hurt the industry causes concern.
Georgia broilers secured a farm gate value of almost $4.2
billion in 2004, which is more than 40 percent of the state’s
total agricultural products. In comparison, cotton came in a
distant second with 5.9 percent and a value of $608.5
million.
“So, how quickly is it coming?” Hamilton said. “My
understanding is that nobody really knows.”
For now, Lacy says, it’s an animal disease, not a human
one. “It doesn’t easily infect people. There’s really no
indication that it’s going to become a problem in the U.S.”
The U.S. poultry industry monitors birds for serious diseases
like the Asian bird flu and for other forms of avian
influenza.
“Testing is performed constantly at many different levels
within the poultry industry as producers and veterinarians
check birds for all types of avian disease,” Lacy said.
When chickens, or any other birds, get the flu, the solution
isn’t as simple as giving them medicine. Because avian
influenza can wipe out a flock in a few days, federal, state,
university, public health, poultry industry trade groups and
companies have developed a coordinated, rapid and comprehensive
response, he said.
“If Asian bird flu is detected, a wide area around the outbreak
will be immediately quarantined, infected birds will be
humanely destroyed and disposed of in an environmentally sound
way to stop the chance of any additional spread,” Lacy said.
The American Association of Avian Pathologists says the key to
fighting Asian bird flu is preparedness.
The USDA has recently invested in implementing improved rapid
diagnostics for avian influenza, provided multiple training
courses on diagnostics and control of avian influenza, and
developed a vaccine bank to allow vaccination to be a control
method if needed.
(Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
