By LINDA BOYLE
1. The bird flu virus has been around since 1878. It was first seen in northern Italy, called at the time “fowl plague,” a contagious disease in poultry with high mortality rates in domestic poultry. Some strains of avian influenza viruses such as H5N1 and H7N9 can also infect humans.
2. Bird flu viruses are all variants of Influenza A viruses. They have been here for a long time—coming and going—and probably will be here forever. It wasn’t until the outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997 that we knew they could affect humans also. Significant, however, is none has been shown to spread from human-to-human. And the deadly version has never circulated in our domestic animals. One Louisianan who died of it had co-morbidities. He acquired the virus from a wild bird in his backyard.
3. China is the source of the current bird flu epidemic. It originated in the intensive poultry farms in southern China and has spread to four continents. In 2021, 15.74 billion – yes, I said billion – poultry birds were culled in China. To meet consumer demand, China has large poultry factories that house over one million birds. Those cramped environments are perfect for virus replication and mutation.
4. Bird flu is currently transmitted to humans through working with domesticated poultry. The transmission occurs from exposure to saliva, mucous, or feces from infected birds. When in prolonged contact without proper protective gear, you are at greater risk.
5. The number of cases of bird flu in the US population is relatively low, with most of the confirmed cases among poultry workers. Dairy cows have also been infected. Here are the numbers:
6. Outbreaks of bird flu in the US include:
1983-85 – H5N2 outbreak in the US that led to the killing of over 17 million birds.
2014-15 – H5N2 outbreak in the US that led to the killing of 50 million birds.
2022 until now– H5N2 outbreak in the US that led to the killing of 166 million birds and still counting.
7. Wild birds are migratory and therefore carry the virus throughout the world. It doesn’t matter how many domestic birds you kill. However, the killing of those domestic birds has been actually profitable for the poultry farmers.
8. Because so many laying hens have been killed, the price of eggs has skyrocketed by more than 50% from a year ago. Stores are restricting the number of eggs you can buy, much like the hand sanitizer was restricted during early Covid. To help consumers, the federal government is going to purchase eggs from other nations as part of its strategy, “backed by $1 billion in funding, to combat a strain of avian influenza that hit in late 2021” with “another $500 million in funding for biosecurity measures, $400 million in relief for impacted farmers and $100 million for vaccine research, the USDA said.”
9. People wonder if it is safe to eat poultry, eggs and beef. Currently, experts say it’s highly unlikely that someone would contract bird flu by eating contaminated food. Many safeguards are in place to prevent one from obtaining contaminated food. Normal cooking temperatures would destroy the virus.
10. The government is pushing ahead with developing a bird flu vaccine for birds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave Zoetis a conditional license for a bird flu vaccine for chickens.That doesn’t mean it was approved for use; it is merely in the testing phase. Conditional approval is different than full approval. For full approval, the drug company must show substantial evidence the drug is effective. For conditional approval, the drug company only needs to demonstrate the drug has reasonable expectation of effectiveness.
There you have the facts.
I know it will come as a shock to you, but already articles are being written on how safety measures need to be put in place to mitigate the spread. Seqirus announced in May it was awarded a bid from the Department of Health and Human Services to create almost 5 million doses of a bird flu vaccine to prepare for a pandemic.
Go back to the statistics.
- Seventy cases and one human death.
- No transmission human-to-human.
Stop using fear mongering to take my freedom, scare me, and force compliance. Enjoy your chicken wings!
Linda Boyle, RN, MSN, DM, was formerly the chief nurse for the 3rd Medical Group, JBER, and was the interim director of the Alaska VA. Most recently, she served as Director for Central Alabama VA Healthcare System. She is the director of the Alaska Covid Alliance/Alaskans 4 Personal Freedom.
I’m so tired of the scare tactics used by the government and media. I’ll just get my own damned birds and to heck with the mass chicken murders.
Why aren’t all the chicken being coerced into wearing masks, and practicing 6′ social distancing, and receiving an experimental and unproven “vaccine”?
They sure were in 2020 and 2021.