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A brief respite from bird flu

Zahin Hasan
IN January and February 2008, bird flu (avian influenza) outbreaks forced the closure of about half the poultry farms in Bangladesh. Bird flu was detected in backyard and farm chickens all over the country; the virus was even found in crows.
In cold weather the bird flu virus survives for many days in poultry manure or bird droppings, and can easily be carried from one place to another on the soles of a person's shoes or on the tyres of a vehicle. This is why the disease was able to spread so fast in winter. In warm weather the bird flu virus cannot survive for long in poultry manure or bird droppings, and is likely to die before it can be carried from one farm to another. This is why there have been fewer outbreaks since the weather became warmer.
It is extremely likely that wild birds all over Bangladesh are still carrying the bird flu vims and spreading it through their droppings. Next winter these wild birds will again infect backyard and farm poultry. Unless effective preventive measures are
taken , we will again see widespread outbreaks ofbird flu winter.
The government has so far relied on two strategies to control bird flu: (a) culling of poultry on infected farms and (b) restricting the transport of poultry out of infected areas. These two measures were not enough to stop the spread ofbird flu last winter, and they will not be enough to stop the spread ofbird flu next winter either. I suggest that the following additional measures should also be taken:
Owners of backyard chickens must be advised to confine their chickens inside sheds. Chickens which roam freely in backyards are continuously in contact with local wild birds, and are therefore extremely likely to be infected. Chickens raised in sheds are somewhat isolated from contact with wild birds, giving them some protection from bird flu.
The government must permit poultry farmers to vaccinate chickens to protect them from bird flu. One infected farm produces tonnes of infected manure and litter. In Bangladesh this infected litter and manure is usually improper dis-
posed of. allowing the virus to spread further. Vaccination of farm poultry will greatly reduce the number of outbreaks on farms: this will in turn decrease the volume of infected manure; this wilt in turn reduce the spread of the virus over geographic area.
Another winter of widespread bird flu outbreaks would spell disaster for the poultry industry. Humans can be infected with bird flu through close contact with infected live chickens. Even though no one will become infected by eating cooked chicken, consumers prefer to err on the side of caution, and will respond to widespread bird flu outbreaks by avoiding chicken altogether.Most of the farms which are now closed are not closed because they suffered bird flu outbreaks; they have simply stopped buying chicks because there is no demand for chicken. If widespread outbreaks are repeated next winter, the consumer panic will also be repeated, and the entire poultry industry will again be pushed to the brink of ruin.
Zahin Hasan owns a poultry breeding company