Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

If a flu pandemic hit, is Maryland ready?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • If a flu pandemic hit, is Maryland ready?



    If a flu pandemic hit, is Maryland ready?
    State prepares for potential threat
    By Joseph Gidjunis
    Staff Writer

    ANNAPOLIS -- Veterinary and health officials testified before legislators Tuesday that the United States is overdue for a pandemic flu outbreak, and the prime suspect expected to launch a nationwide medical crisis is the most severe avian flu virus, H5N1.

    Officials acknowledge that the current risk for such an outbreak is low, but evidence from Asia and Europe -- which has killed hundreds of thousands of birds and more than 100 people -- proves the virus is adaptable and deadly. Avian flu was found in Worcester County birds in 2004, but this strain, similar to most avian flu strains, does not infect humans.

    The next one could.

    "Is this the one?" Guy Hohenhaus, a state veterinarian with the Maryland Department of Agriculture, asked rhetorically. "We would be foolish not to act like it could be. It may well go away on its own, but we can't base our strategy on hopeful thinking."

    To combat the threat, surveillance programs across the country, including Maryland, have doubled in size and added personnel to testing and response. He boasted about Delmarva's efforts by the major producers to test every flock of birds no more than 10 days before slaughter. The previous testing rate was four of every 10 flocks. The two major labs conducting the tests are on Delmarva, Hohenhaus said.

    While wild birds immigrating to the country from the north are one of three ways experts fear the virus could turn up in the country, there is some concern that illegally importing a sick bird or selling them in a live market could spread the disease.

    But what representatives on the Joint Committee on Federal Relations really wanted to know was how Maryland would respond to an outbreak.

    "If something happened tomorrow, what would we do?" said Delegate Nancy King, D-39-Montgomery.

    Jean Taylor, an epidemiologist with Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said each state has an allotment of antiviral drugs available for purchase from the federal government, but as of now, demand for the drug would exceed supply. The government's goal is to have a stockpile of drugs for about 25 percent of the country's population by December 2008.

    "I think the massive surveillance in wild waterfowl this year, in North America especially, it has not turned up any indication of any ... Asian lineage viruses," said G. Donald Ritter, director of Health Services for Mountaire Farms. "That's great information we didn't have last year."

    Perdue Farms spokesperson Julie DeYoung said consumers do have a heightened awareness of avian flu, but its not necessarily bad.

    "With more information, consumers will make the best decisions to help them," DeYoung said.

    And as long as poultry is properly cooked, consumers are not at risk.

    Avian flu consequences have been well-publicized, but the risks are not imminent. There is a possibility that it will never surface. If it does, its strength depends on the strain and how much it mutates.

    "We're looking hard for flu. If we find it, we have detailed plans to eliminate it as quick as possible and go on about our business," Ritter said.

  • #2
    Re: If a flu pandemic hit, is Maryland ready?

    Originally posted by Mellie
    http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs...612130305/1002


    "I think the massive surveillance in wild waterfowl this year, in North America especially, it has not turned up any indication of any ... Asian lineage viruses," said G. Donald Ritter, director of Health Services for Mountaire Farms. "That's great information we didn't have last year."
    Really massive? Swabbing from the wrong end based upon recent study and only hunter killed or live birds is not my idea of "massive surveillance. Better than last year, certainly.


    "We're looking hard for flu. If we find it, we have detailed plans to eliminate it as quick as possible and go on about our business," Ritter said.
    How?

    In all fairness, Ritter doesn't represent Maryland. In fact Mountaire Farms is a Delaware operation (poultry portion, at least) From the Mountaire Farms website avian flu information (the "facts" are not reassuring):

    <table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="745"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#dbdbca"><td bgcolor="#dbdbca" valign="top" width="607">May-16-2006


    </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#dbdbca"> <td valign="top" width="132">
    </td> <td valign="top" width="6"></td> <td bgcolor="#dbdbca" valign="top" width="607"> Avian Influenza Facts from Mountaire Farms
    ?Avian Influenza is a virus that affects birds, primarily migratory wildfowl.
    ?Avian influenza is not present in the United States, nor is it present in the U.S. poultry supply.
    ?Avian Influenza cannot be transmitted through cooked chicken.
    ?Avian Influenza is typically transmitted from bird-to-bird. The only instance s of bird-to-human transmission has been where there has been direct contact with live birds.
    ?Mountaire Farms has an extensive bio-security program, designed to safeguard the chickens and to ensure excellent levels of bird health.
    ?As a preventative measure, Mountaire Farms tests 100% of all flocks for the Avian Influenza virus.
    ?Mountaire Farms owns and controls 100% of all chickens raised for company production, and does not purchase poultry, eggs or breeding stock from outside the United States.

    </td></tr></tbody></table>
    Last edited by Niko; December 17, 2006, 12:51 AM. Reason: added info
    "In the beginning of change, the patriot is a scarce man (or woman https://flutrackers.com/forum/core/i...ilies/wink.png), and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for it then costs nothing to be a patriot."- Mark TwainReason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it. -Thomas Paine

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: If a flu pandemic hit, is Maryland ready?

      not that I think, Maryland were particularly important,

      but .. is there some competition between the US-states ?
      Are they trying to attract people or busyness from other
      states by their superior panflu-preparation or planned panflu-laws ?
      I'm interested in expert panflu damage estimates
      my current links: http://bit.ly/hFI7H ILI-charts: http://bit.ly/CcRgT

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: If a flu pandemic hit, is Maryland ready?

        Originally posted by gsgs
        not that I think, Maryland were particularly important,

        but .. is there some competition between the US-states ?
        Are they trying to attract people or busyness from other
        states by their superior panflu-preparation or planned panflu-laws ?
        As an FYI, Maryland's Eastern Shore is home to some of the largest poultry operations in the United States. Perdue is based out of the Eastern Shore.

        I used to live in Annapolis Maryland, which is right on the Cheaspeake Bay and across the bridge from the Eastern Shore. I remember reading about all the problems they were having recently on what to do with all the chicken feces. With all the chickens on the Eastern Shore it has created quite a problem.

        So, if H5N1 were to get into the Eastern Shore of Maryland, you would have a big problem.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: If a flu pandemic hit, is Maryland ready?

          Delmarva (Delaware, Maryland & Virginia)

          Approximately - 1,900 poultry growers on Delmarva<o:p></o:p>
          5,100 poultry houses on Delmarva<o:p></o:p>
          Delmarva Chicken Association is the 1,600-member trade association working for the common good of the meat chicken industry in Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and Virginia's Eastern Shore.


          Yes, Maryland is very important to poultry production in the USA. Also, very important to migratory birds.
          "In the beginning of change, the patriot is a scarce man (or woman https://flutrackers.com/forum/core/i...ilies/wink.png), and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for it then costs nothing to be a patriot."- Mark TwainReason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it. -Thomas Paine

          Comment

          Working...
          X