Avian flu the denial stage begins

By Will Verboven

January 18, 2006 -- One might think that linking BSE and Avian Flu may be a stretch, but there is an extenuating connection that is ominous for poultry producers and consumers. It has to do with the Canadian government response to the spread of Avian Flu - it sounds remarkably similar to their initial response to BSE in Europe. That being; "it is almost impossible for the virulent H5N1 strain to spread to this continent".

That was the same denial approach that was taken by Canadian government officials 20 years ago when BSE was spreading in Europe. I recall sanctimonious federal government veterinarians making feel-good statements that the measures being taken against an outbreak of BSE were adequate for a disease that just couldn't spread to Canada. Taxpayers and the cattle industry are now painfully aware of what such assurances were worth.

Dr. Jim Clark of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) assures us that the deadly Avian Flu strain in wild birds in Asia doesn't pose a real danger because they circulate in very different migratory routes. I sincerely hope any infected wild birds in Europe or Asia have been made aware by Dr. Clark that under no circumstance are they to stray from their usual flyways. The recent discovery of an infected parrot from South America in England would indicate that neither the disease nor birds are restricted by migratory routes.

The CFIA on their website provides advice to prevent the spread of Avian Flu. People who travel from infected areas are advised to keep away from birds. That must mean people have to stay indoors as infected wild fowl fly where they please over whomever they please. Are any border control measures being taken to keep the disease out? After all the CFIA states that Avian Flu is transmitted through bird fecal matter which can attach itself to shoes, clothing even hair. Outside of some innocuous signs at airports no measures are being taken to check travelers from infected countries.

It reminds me of the half-hearted measures the CFIA took against the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease. When it broke out in the UK it was deemed to be a threatening calamity that required travelers to walk though disinfectant footbaths at airports. The disease is still prevalent in Africa, Asia and South America, but the CFIA doesn't require sanitary measures for travelers from those areas. Go figure.

Poultry producers are advised to keep wild birds away from their buildings. Perhaps they need to paint very large "keep away" signs on their roofs so that migratory birds can read them from a distance.

Avian Flu has struck Canada before although not this deadly variety. Contrary to the bromides offered by the CFIA, infected bird fecal matter can reach Canada attached to people or equipment. For example a freighter ship traveling from an infected country could reach Canada with all sorts of infected bird fecal matter attached to it.

What the CFIA needs to do is immediately see that all free-range domestic birds are either destroyed or locked indoors. That is how the disease is spread in other countries from wild birds to domestic birds raised outside. Consumers can help by not buying any free-range poultry or eggs that come from farms that keep birds outside for any length of time. Travelers coming from infected countries need to undergo some sort of inspection, perhaps by sniffer dogs trained to find any attached fecal matter - dogs should be good at that. It may not seem like a big deal, but those steps are 100% better than the pitiful advice of the CFIA. Another thing that needs to be done is raise the fear factor in consumers. The first step is to use the more descriptive name of Avian Flu that being "Fowl Plague". For reasons that only the media can rationalize, it's okay to call BSE - mad cow disease - but somehow no media dares call Avian Flu - "Fowl Plague". Are they fearful that their readers may panic and stop buying poultry products because of the word plague? No such concern is ever shown by most media that still refer to BSE as mad cow disease. A double standard perhaps. The madness continues.