Does avian flu affect beef prices?
437486
I have nothing to back this up: I would guess that the price of beef would go up along with pork.  The basic idea is that if the demand for chicken goes down, then the demand for other meats would go up and therefore driving up their prices too.\n\nSupply vs. Demand
524554
Bird flu isn;t as deadl as the media has hyped it up to be. It's the latest ratings scare tactic, guaranteed to keep you glued to your tv.
284944
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/facts.htm
1020451
Actually bird flu is affecting people. Well over 200 people world wide have been infected with the virus. The fatality rate is over 50%, and it has been spreading across Asia, Europe and Africa.\n\nMany of these infections have resulted from close contact with poultry, but there are several clusters of infection where the virus has been spread from person to person. \n\nOne recent cluster was on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. A woman contracted the disease and it spread from her to seven members of her family. Seven of the eight family members died.\n\nRight now we are seeing only limited person to person transmission. The fear is that the virus will mutate so that person to person transmission will happen easily and we will have a pandemic.\n\nEverytime a person gets avian flu (bird flu) there is a chance of it mutating so that it can be early spread.\n\nWe do not have a vaccine for this particular virus. They can't start working on a vaccine until it does mutate and it will take about 6-8 months to begin to produce vaccine.\n\nThe antiviral medicine Tamiflu may reduce the symptoms and reduce the chance of death, but there isn't enough Taniflu. At this point it looks as though medical personnel may get the first doses so that they can continue to take care of patients who have the flu.\n\nThe government has asked people to prepare for the flu by stocking supplies for our families in case we are asked to  practice "social distancing." That would be a quarantine where people are told to stay home to reduce the spread of the disease. Schools would close, there would be no church services, concerts, meetings, etc.\n\nWe are asked to have food, water, medicine, medical supplies, etc.\n\nIf you are interested in knowing more about bird flu, a good source of information is http://www.avianflutalk.com/  You will find current news, discussion, information about bird flu, and people who will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
273137
It's definitely a threat, but there are some misconceptions.  You can't get it by eating birds, in the same way you can't get another kind of influenza in humans by eating humans.  It's not equatable to mad cow disease, as I've heard has been claimed.  You can, however, get it if you breathe contaminated air.  If you've got birds, then either eat them or rid yourself of them.  If you're on the east coast of either of the American continents, or in the middle, then you should be relatively safer, at least for a longer period of time.  There have been cases in southeast Asia, where it was first found, and it has migrated as far as Greece and Romania and there was a small scare in Warsaw a few weeks ago but that's all that's been in the news.  So yes, worry, but it's not likely to turn into another Black Plague.  Knock on wood.
100103
Yes, the egg can get infected.  \n\nYes, it appears that it is safe to eat the egg if properly cooked.\n\nNo, it is not recommended.\n\nThe following exerpt comes from my source:\n\n"Can I become infected with the bird flu by consuming eggs or other poultry products from infected birds? \nThere is no evidence that anyone has been infected with the Asian bird flu or other bird flu virus by eating properly cooked eggs or other cooked poultry products derived from infected birds. Cooking food to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius) will kill bird flu virus if it is present. Nearly all of the more than 100 human cases of the Asian bird flu that have been diagnosed recently in Asia have had direct contact with infected chickens, ducks, turkeys, or their environment. This suggests that close contact with infected birds has been the primary route of transmission for the Asian bird flu infections, rather than eating food derived from infected birds.\n\nAlthough strains of bird flu virus like the Asian bird flu that cause severe disease in poultry can result in the contamination of egg shells and the inside of the egg (the yolk and albumen or the egg white), hens with severe bird flu usually stop laying eggs, so few contaminated eggs are likely to be marketed. Furthermore, the U. S. government has taken steps to prevent infected birds or their products, including their eggs, from entering the U.S. food supply. "
636068
The bird flu is nothing to panic about right now if you are a smart consumer. The bird flu is still in asia and has not been rapidly spreading in the USA. You will not catch the bird flu is you properly handle and cook all poultry. The only way you can get it is if you go over to asia and handle an infected bird. Other wise you are pretty safe safe! Scientists are working on a vaccine right now so hopfully the bird flu epedimic panic will soon fade away!
451441
Tough Question - My glib answer is that it won't happen because I am taking precautions for an outbreak. Evey time I take precautions for a disaster nothing happens;) \n\nWhy I am worried is because one case of human to human transmission has happened in Thailand. Also the flu has a week incubation period and during that time it can be spread.   \n\nSpanish flu killed between 50 & 100 million in 1918 and started off as an avian virus. Experts say that the Spanish flu virus had 12 mutations which made it adapt from just infecting birds to infecting pigs and humans.  The mass fowl cullings around the world seem to be preventing any adapted viruses from starting a human pandemic. However the virus has reached countries that don't have the infrastructure, because of bad government, war and poverty, to identify and contain H5N1 in birds. This means that if the adaption happens it could get a foothold in the human population and then start spreading. \n\nThe next point is what do you mean by "really become  contagious?" \n\nMost of the models of the spread of a pandemic are based on past infections. Most predictions are scientifically valid but they depend on a number of factors that can not be controlled. If avian flu mutates to human to human it may become less lethal and it may not be as contagious as it is now. The only way that the statistics will be proved depends on what the H5N1 virus does next.\n\nThe range of the numbers show just how difficult it is to get a clear idea of what may happen. Here are some numbers I crunched based on assumptions and a worldwide population of 6 billion. Note fatalities are based on no medical treatment. \n\n1.) Bird flu stays in birds and can only be transmitted through eating uncooked chicken, exposure to dead birds and drinking or eating things that have been infected.\n% of world population that gets sick 0.000040%\nNo. Sick 2,400\n% fatalities 63.64%\nNo. fatalities 1,527\n\n2.) Bird flu mutates and is really weakened in the mutation \n% of world population that gets sick 25%\nNo. Sick 1,500,000,000\n% fatalities 0.50% (half a percent)\nNo. fatalities 7,500,000\n\n3.) Bird flu mutates and is as virulent as the spanish flu of 1918 (WHO figures) \n% of world population that gets sick 50%\nNo. Sick 3,000,000,000\n% fatalities 5%\nNo. fatalities 150,000,000\n\nThese models become scarier and scarier the worse the plagues and disasters used as a base. All they really say is that if there is a pandemic people, without medical help, will die. They don't say that it will happen. (If you want to really scare yourself or someone else do the maths on bubonic plague 80% infected and 80% fatalities).  \n\nSo overall I'll say there is a chance of this avian fly being the next pandemic. The chance is not so terrifyingly likely that I am going to sell up and move to a defendable mountaintop and start shooting at strangers. However the chance is big enough that I have spent about $100 dollars on Tamiflu and food - just in case. \n\nThe only people who have told me with a 100% certainty that the pandemic is going to happen and everyone will die are people who are trying to sell me stuff to survive the coming pandemic. I think they are pretty biased.
468623
The highly pathogenic form of H5N1 avian influenza virus has not been found in wild birds in North America. \n\nIn 2005, a low pathogenic form of H5N1, which is not thought to pose a danger to poultry or humans, was found in wild ducks in Canada. There is a chance that infected wild birds from Asia could bring the highly pathogenic form of the virus with them during spring or fall migration to North America. \n\nThe US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey (USGS), Alaska Department of Fish & Game, and public health agencies are working together to test thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds for the virus in Alaska, and field sampling is being integrated with surveillance programs throughout the United States and Canada.
112976
In humans, avian flu viruses cause similar symptoms to other types of flu. [21] These include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, conjunctivitis and, in severe cases, severe breathing problems and pneumonia that may be fatal. The severity of the infection will depend to a large part on the state of the infected person's immune system and if the victim has been exposed to the strain before, and is therefore partially immune. In one case, a boy with H5N1 experienced diarrhea followed rapidly by a coma without developing respiratory or flu-like symptoms, suggesting non-standard symptoms.
602212
NO its not going to kill everybody if it keeps as it is at the moment.\nYou can get it just by contact with sick animals.\nBut this kind o virus can change behavior. \nThat was what happened in 1918 in the Spanish flu.\nSee in\nhttp://www.therealleiman.com/history.html\nIf that happens now with this virus \nWell , ....let us hope its not going to happens.
136015
When you cook this meat, the pathogen is getting destroyed by the heat. Besides, you have to take care when you prepare the uncooked meat. It is always preferable to use  gloves.\nI have put in a search engine as key words, usda.gov and chicken flu and I got great information. Do the same...\nThere is also the site of European Union \nwww.eu.int that has interesting and valid information.\nGo under the consumer's section.\n\nKaterina
383634
Bird flu affects mainly people who hv direct and close contact with any kind of affected birds. And it is important to know that the virus is damaged at tempreture of 60C, so if u boil an affected bird, then it is safe to eat it!
590006
Doesn't much matter what I think, or what you think. There will, or won't be a mutation in the current avian flu which will make it contagious in humans. But learing something about it will probably help with worrying. If you eat poultry, make certain it is fully cooked, both to prevent salmonella infection and to lessen any chance of passing on the avian flu. \n\n=======\nflu viruses\n\nFirst some background on flu viruses. It's a large family.  There are flus which infect birds (we're looking at a really strong one now -- it's killing essentially all of some species, eg chickens), which infect pigs (there was a swine flu panic during Gerald Ford's Presidency), which infect humans, and ... Usually, bird flus infect only birds, as in this case. There are only about two hundred people, and a few cats, known to have been infected with this avian flu. it's ot very good at infecting us -- so far. The really scary thing is that about 1/2 of them have died. Very few diseases have a mortality rate that high.\n\nFlu viruses sometimes swap bits with each other and acquire the ability to do new things, like infect another species. A pig flu infects a bird and the two flus 'mix and match' and produce a new flu capable of infecting a human, perhaps. Or some other combination. Most of this seems to go on in SE Asia, where duck ponds, a few pigs, and the humans family live in very close quarters. This cross species stuff doesn't seem to be all that common. Human flus have undergone major changes only every few years (2 or 3 since WWII) for instance, and if those changes are the result of this shuffling business, there's an indication of the chances of thsi one branching out to people. Perhaps.\n\n=======\nprior bird flus in humans\n\nIn fact, we know of only one large pandemic caused by a bird flu, or at least by a flu which had bird characteristics. That's the one in 1918, which has only recently been pinned down as a bird flu. Some researchers went looking for bodies which had been buried in the Arctic and remained frozen since 1918. After a decade's work digging in the permafrost, samples from them finally yielded enough information to reconstruct the 1918 virus, and it was a characteristically bird sort. It's still not clear what made it so deadly, but at least we're pretty sure what it was now. It popped up, killed something like 50 million folks around the world in 18 months or 2 years, and vanished.\n\n===========\nfuture possibilities\n\nIf the present bird flu changes enough to infect humans, and stays very contagious as it is now in birds and as nearly all flu viruses are, it may be a rerun of 1918 for humans. And if it retains its current lethality in humans (50+% so far, in a very small sample), it will probably be a good deal worse than the 1918 experience. We have more people, packed more closely, and with little margin (extra food capacity, medical capacity, sewerage and water capacity, ...), so things should be worse, all things being equal -- as they obviously are not.\n\nThere are a few things this bird flu does which appear to be new. When infecting humans, it seems to be able to spread by food. Most flus, human flus anyway, don't. This is new. And, it attacks nearly all tissues, while most human flus have largely been respiratory diseases. This is also new. Finally, it is essentially 100% lethal for chickens, also new behavior. Whether a changed avian flu which readily infects humans will contiue to behave these ways, or whether there is something specially vulnerable about the 200 some folks known to have been infected with it, is not known. It may be that lots of people have been infected, shock it off as a cold or something, and never saw a doctor. We don't know.\n\n==========\ndefenses\n\nUnlike 1918, we understand what we can do to beat any new flu variant. Vaccines work pretty well on all the flus we've encountered so far. The problem with deve
75974
Avian influenza is an infection caused by avian (bird) influenza (flu) viruses. These influenza viruses occur naturally among birds. Wild birds worldwide carry the viruses in their intestines, but usually do not get sick from them. However, avian influenza is very contagious among birds and can make some domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys, very sick and kill them.\n\nInfected birds shed influenza virus in their saliva, nasal secretions, and feces. Susceptible birds become infected when they have contact with contaminated secretions or excretions or with surfaces that are contaminated with secretions or excretions from infected birds. Domesticated birds may become infected with avian influenza virus through direct contact with infected waterfowl or other infected poultry, or through contact with surfaces (such as dirt or cages) or materials (such as water or feed) that have been contaminated with the virus.\n\nInfection with avian influenza viruses in domestic poultry causes two main forms of disease that are distinguished by low and high extremes of virulence. The “low pathogenic” form may go undetected and usually causes only mild symptoms (such as ruffled feathers and a drop in egg production). However, the highly pathogenic form spreads more rapidly through flocks of poultry. This form may cause disease that affects multiple internal organs and has a mortality rate that can reach 90-100% often within 48 hours.\nHuman infection with avian influenza viruses\n\nThere are many different subtypes of type A influenza viruses. These subtypes differ because of changes in certain proteins on the surface of the influenza A virus (hemagglutinin [HA] and neuraminidase [NA] proteins). There are 16 known HA subtypes and 9 known NA subtypes of influenza A viruses. Many different combinations of HA and NA proteins are possible. Each combination represents a different subtype. All known subtypes of influenza A viruses can be found in birds.\n\nUsually, “avian influenza virus” refers to influenza A viruses found chiefly in birds, but infections with these viruses can occur in humans. The risk from avian influenza is generally low to most people, because the viruses do not usually infect humans. However, confirmed cases of human infection from several subtypes of avian influenza infection have been reported since 1997. Most cases of avian influenza infection in humans have resulted from contact with infected poultry (e.g., domesticated chicken, ducks, and turkeys) or surfaces contaminated with secretion/excretions from infected birds. The spread of avian influenza viruses from one ill person to another has been reported very rarely, and transmission has not been observed to continue beyond one person.\n\n“Human influenza virus” usually refers to those subtypes that spread widely among humans. There are only three known A subtypes of influenza viruses (H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2) currently circulating among humans. It is likely that some genetic parts of current human influenza A viruses came from birds originally. Influenza A viruses are constantly changing, and they might adapt over time to infect and spread among humans.\n\nDuring an outbreak of avian influenza among poultry, there is a possible risk to people who have contact with infected birds or surfaces that have been contaminated with secretions or excretions from infected birds.\n\nSymptoms of avian influenza in humans have ranged from typical human influenza-like symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches) to eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases (such as acute respiratory distress), and other severe and life-threatening complications. The symptoms of avian influenza may depend on which virus caused the infection.
109083
Key Facts About Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) and Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus\nE-mail this page\nPrinter-friendly version\nWhat You Should Know About Avian Flu\nKey Facts\nInfections in Humans\nQuestions & Answers\nCurrent Situation\nThis fact sheet provides general information about avian influenza (bird flu) and information about one type of bird flu, called avian influenza A (H5N1), that has caused infections in birds in Asia and Europe and in humans in Asia. Also see Questions and Answers on the CDC website and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the World Health Organization (WHO) website.\n\nAvian Influenza (Bird Flu)\nAvian influenza in birds\nAvian influenza is an infection caused by avian (bird) influenza (flu) viruses. These influenza viruses occur naturally among birds. Wild birds worldwide carry the viruses in their intestines, but usually do not get sick from them. However, avian influenza is very contagious among birds and can make some domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys, very sick and kill them.\n\nInfected birds shed influenza virus in their saliva, nasal secretions, and feces. Susceptible birds become infected when they have contact with contaminated secretions or excretions or with surfaces that are contaminated with secretions or excretions from infected birds. Domesticated birds may become infected with avian influenza virus through direct contact with infected waterfowl or other infected poultry, or through contact with surfaces (such as dirt or cages) or materials (such as water or feed) that have been contaminated with the virus.\n\nInfection with avian influenza viruses in domestic poultry causes two main forms of disease that are distinguished by low and high extremes of virulence. The “low pathogenic” form may go undetected and usually causes only mild symptoms (such as ruffled feathers and a drop in egg production). However, the highly pathogenic form spreads more rapidly through flocks of poultry. This form may cause disease that affects multiple internal organs and has a mortality rate that can reach 90-100% often within 48 hours.\n\nHuman infection with avian influenza viruses\nThere are many different subtypes of type A influenza viruses. These subtypes differ because of changes in certain proteins on the surface of the influenza A virus (hemagglutinin [HA] and neuraminidase [NA] proteins). There are 16 known HA subtypes and 9 known NA subtypes of influenza A viruses. Many different combinations of HA and NA proteins are possible. Each combination represents a different subtype. All known subtypes of influenza A viruses can be found in birds.\n\nUsually, “avian influenza virus” refers to influenza A viruses found chiefly in birds, but infections with these viruses can occur in humans. The risk from avian influenza is generally low to most people, because the viruses do not usually infect humans. However, confirmed cases of human infection from several subtypes of avian influenza infection have been reported since 1997. Most cases of avian influenza infection in humans have resulted from contact with infected poultry (e.g., domesticated chicken, ducks, and turkeys) or surfaces contaminated with secretion/excretions from infected birds. The spread of avian influenza viruses from one ill person to another has been reported very rarely, and transmission has not been observed to continue beyond one person.\n\n“Human influenza virus” usually refers to those subtypes that spread widely among humans. There are only three known A subtypes of influenza viruses (H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2) currently circulating among humans. It is likely that some genetic parts of current human influenza A viruses came from birds originally. Influenza A viruses are constantly changing, and they might adapt over time to infect and spread among humans.\n\nDuring an outbreak of avian influenza among poultry, there is a possible risk to people who have contact with infected birds or surfaces that
1040019
Curing this flu is no easy matter, avian influenza is so deadly that it is right behind anthrax on the bio-defense list, as a possible terrorist weapon. There are two ways to try to dodge the flu. One is to kill all infected birds. The other is to develop a vaccine before the disease shifts. Because this strain requires four times the usual vaccine dosage it is impossible to produce the 600 million doses our population needs. Current supplies could provide vaccine for 15 million people; that’s only 5% of our population. Accumulated data paints such a frightening pathogenic picture that WHO issued an urgent warning that a flu pandemic could affect billions of people worldwide. Billions because, unlike our annual flu outbreaks, everyone is vulnerable, regardless of age or health. To make matters worse,in Germany, on February 26, 2006, the virus demonstrated its adaptability when a domestic cat  was found dead from  avian influenza. A few days later, an infected stone marten was discovered. This shows us that the virus is changing. Last week it was believed that 6 members of an Indonesian family had all died of avian flu, which could indicate that the virus can now spread through human to human contagion. If a pandemic does strike we will immediately lose 40% of the country's work force. President Bush got less than half of the $7.1 billion he asked for to fight this flu. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist warned Americans that state and federal authorities are "woefully underprepared" to enforce quarantine provisions and distribute medicine, food, and other vital supplies in response to an avian flu pandemic. There isn’t medical equipment or staff enough to handle this outbreak. There are pitifully few ventilators and not enough coffins or cemeteries to bury the dead.  Perhaps as many as 1.7 million Amjericans  will die as the flu cycles through our country.Bush has said he will deploy the U.S. military to enforce a quarantine on areas where infection is found. Well, that’s just ridiculous. Where will the manpower come from? \nThere really isn’t a good solution to the problem. There isn’t enough vaccine; people are going to die. Remember birds distribute the virus through their fluids and feces so watch where you step and stay clear of ducks, they are carriers of the virus but are unaffected by it.  So the best bet is to stock up on water, canned foods and Tamiflu, stay in your own home, limit visitors severely, watch over your old folks and the infants and keep them as washed up as possible, wash your own hands often and pray. But be careful what you pray for … this flu might never be a problem ... it could be some other strain of man-killer flu entirely.