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http://agfax.com/2015/04/10/turkey-f...flu-spreading/
Chickens would have the same risk factors, so why are turkeys so vulnerable? Obesity was a risk factor for pH1N1 in humans, so did selective breeding for heavy breasts make turkeys more susceptible?
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/201...nts-of-our-big
But turkeys are muscle-heavy, not fat-heavy, (and chickens have been bred to be abnormally muscular in the breast, too.) Could a muscle growth-promoting drug that is FDA approved for use in turkeys but not in chickens be the risk factor?
http://foodbabe.com/2014/11/06/this-...holiday-feast/
Pharmacologically, Ractopamine is a beta-adrenergic agonist, or 'β-blocker.' [ETA: See next post - not a beta-blocker.]
Maybe this latest rendition of a deadly avian flu is actually an animal husbandry issue.
April 10, 2015
Turkey Farming: H5N2 Bird Flu Spreading
By Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor
Studies by USDA?s Agricultural Research Service have shown turkeys are far more susceptible to the influenza than chickens. Thus, large turkey production areas are becoming hotbeds for the virus.
...
Most of the birds were indoors, but heating or ventilation and airflow all could have led to the spread of the influenza. Water fowl may not get in, but feces from wild birds could. Producers are taking increased biosecurity measures to avoid limiting exposure.
Turkey Farming: H5N2 Bird Flu Spreading
By Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor
Studies by USDA?s Agricultural Research Service have shown turkeys are far more susceptible to the influenza than chickens. Thus, large turkey production areas are becoming hotbeds for the virus.
...
Most of the birds were indoors, but heating or ventilation and airflow all could have led to the spread of the influenza. Water fowl may not get in, but feces from wild birds could. Producers are taking increased biosecurity measures to avoid limiting exposure.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/201...nts-of-our-big
Can Breeders Cure What Ails Our Breast-Heavy Turkeys?
November 27, 2014 7:03 AM ET
November 27, 2014 7:03 AM ET
But turkeys are muscle-heavy, not fat-heavy, (and chickens have been bred to be abnormally muscular in the breast, too.) Could a muscle growth-promoting drug that is FDA approved for use in turkeys but not in chickens be the risk factor?
http://foodbabe.com/2014/11/06/this-...holiday-feast/
This Drug Has Sickened Thousands of Animals ? Will It Be At Your Holiday Feast?
Topmax? 9
ELANCO* AF0621
For Use in the Manufacture of Medicated Turkey Feed.Topmax? 9 Ractopamine Hydrochloride
ELANCO* AF0621
For Use in the Manufacture of Medicated Turkey Feed.Topmax? 9 Ractopamine Hydrochloride
Biological Sciences - Immunology:
Kristie M. Grebe, Heather D. Hickman, Kari R. Irvine, Kazuyo Takeda, Jack R. Bennink, and Jonathan W. Yewdell
Sympathetic nervous system control of anti-influenza CD8+ T cell responses
PNAS 2009 106 (13) 5300-5305; published ahead of print March 13, 2009, doi:10.1073/pnas.0808851106
Abstract
Despite the longstanding appreciation of communication between the nervous and the immune systems, the nature and significance of these interactions to immunity remain enigmatic. Here, we show that 6-hydroxydopamine-mediated ablation of the mouse peripheral sympathetic nervous system increases primary CD8+ T cell responses to viral and cellular antigens presented by direct priming or cross-priming. The sympathetic nervous system also suppresses antiviral CD4+ T cell responses, but this is not required for suppressing CD8+ T cell responses. Adoptive transfer experiments indicate that enhanced CD8+ responses do not result from permanent alterations in CD8+ T cell function in sympathectomized mice. Rather, additional findings suggest that the sympathetic nervous system tempers the capacity of antigen-presenting cells to activate na?ve CD8+ T cells. We also show that antiviral CD8+ T cell responses are enhanced by administration of a β2 (but not β1 or α) adrenergic antagonist. These findings demonstrate a critical role for the sympathetic nervous system in limiting CD8+ T cell responses and indicate that CD8+ T cell responses may be altered in patients using β-blockers, one of the most widely prescribed classes of drugs.
Kristie M. Grebe, Heather D. Hickman, Kari R. Irvine, Kazuyo Takeda, Jack R. Bennink, and Jonathan W. Yewdell
Sympathetic nervous system control of anti-influenza CD8+ T cell responses
PNAS 2009 106 (13) 5300-5305; published ahead of print March 13, 2009, doi:10.1073/pnas.0808851106
Abstract
Despite the longstanding appreciation of communication between the nervous and the immune systems, the nature and significance of these interactions to immunity remain enigmatic. Here, we show that 6-hydroxydopamine-mediated ablation of the mouse peripheral sympathetic nervous system increases primary CD8+ T cell responses to viral and cellular antigens presented by direct priming or cross-priming. The sympathetic nervous system also suppresses antiviral CD4+ T cell responses, but this is not required for suppressing CD8+ T cell responses. Adoptive transfer experiments indicate that enhanced CD8+ responses do not result from permanent alterations in CD8+ T cell function in sympathectomized mice. Rather, additional findings suggest that the sympathetic nervous system tempers the capacity of antigen-presenting cells to activate na?ve CD8+ T cells. We also show that antiviral CD8+ T cell responses are enhanced by administration of a β2 (but not β1 or α) adrenergic antagonist. These findings demonstrate a critical role for the sympathetic nervous system in limiting CD8+ T cell responses and indicate that CD8+ T cell responses may be altered in patients using β-blockers, one of the most widely prescribed classes of drugs.
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