Bird flu called no immediate threat to US.
Bird flu called no immediate threat
The U.S. has safeguards in place, an official says during a conference in New Market
BY CALVIN R. TRICE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
NEW MARKET - Avian flu is a common type of virus that poses no immediate threat to human health in the United States, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said yesterday.
Ron DeHaven addressed concerns of many among the 140 people who attended an agriculture conference held by U.S. Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte, R-6th. Goodlatte emphasized free-trade negotiations and the upcoming farm bill during a wide-ranging discussion on issues concerning Shenandoah Valley agriculture.
The valley's poultry industry lost millions of dollars during a 2002 outbreak of a mild strain of avian flu.
In the 2002 outbreak, a government worker became ill, suffering fever, cough, sore throat and a headache before recovering. The infection was confirmed by antibodies in his blood to be influenza H7N2, which is not the same avian flu that has recently struck in Asia. It is one of two known cases of avian flu infecting a human in the United States.
Inside the auditorium at the New Market Battlefield museum, DeHaven reminded everyone that there are many strains of avian flu that circulate regularly.
"There's a flu season for poultry just like there's one for people," said DeHaven, administrator for the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The United States has enough safeguards in place to keep out the deadly H5N1 strain that has migrated from Asia into Europe, he said. The U.S. doesn't import birds from affected areas. Those birds that are imported are quarantined for 30 days to ensure that they're disease free, DeHaven noted.
And because virus checking among commercial birds here is so thorough, technicians are likely to turn up a strain of avian flu, he said.
He gave as an example an H5N1 strain that turned up in Canada recently that differs from the Asian variety and poses no threat to humans. The concern about the Asian type of bird flu is that it's in a group that mutates rapidly and easily, DeHaven said.
If it ever turns into a virus that passes easily among people, it could cause a worldwide pandemic. U.S. officials now realize that this country must assist nations affected by the Asian type, he said.
"The most significant thing we can do to protect public health is to attack this virus at the source," DeHaven said.
Contact staff writer Calvin R. Trice at ctrice@timesdispatch.com or (540) 574-9977.
This story can be found at: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servle...
Bird flu called no immediate threat
The U.S. has safeguards in place, an official says during a conference in New Market
BY CALVIN R. TRICE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
NEW MARKET - Avian flu is a common type of virus that poses no immediate threat to human health in the United States, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said yesterday.
Ron DeHaven addressed concerns of many among the 140 people who attended an agriculture conference held by U.S. Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte, R-6th. Goodlatte emphasized free-trade negotiations and the upcoming farm bill during a wide-ranging discussion on issues concerning Shenandoah Valley agriculture.
The valley's poultry industry lost millions of dollars during a 2002 outbreak of a mild strain of avian flu.
In the 2002 outbreak, a government worker became ill, suffering fever, cough, sore throat and a headache before recovering. The infection was confirmed by antibodies in his blood to be influenza H7N2, which is not the same avian flu that has recently struck in Asia. It is one of two known cases of avian flu infecting a human in the United States.
Inside the auditorium at the New Market Battlefield museum, DeHaven reminded everyone that there are many strains of avian flu that circulate regularly.
"There's a flu season for poultry just like there's one for people," said DeHaven, administrator for the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The United States has enough safeguards in place to keep out the deadly H5N1 strain that has migrated from Asia into Europe, he said. The U.S. doesn't import birds from affected areas. Those birds that are imported are quarantined for 30 days to ensure that they're disease free, DeHaven noted.
And because virus checking among commercial birds here is so thorough, technicians are likely to turn up a strain of avian flu, he said.
He gave as an example an H5N1 strain that turned up in Canada recently that differs from the Asian variety and poses no threat to humans. The concern about the Asian type of bird flu is that it's in a group that mutates rapidly and easily, DeHaven said.
If it ever turns into a virus that passes easily among people, it could cause a worldwide pandemic. U.S. officials now realize that this country must assist nations affected by the Asian type, he said.
"The most significant thing we can do to protect public health is to attack this virus at the source," DeHaven said.
Contact staff writer Calvin R. Trice at ctrice@timesdispatch.com or (540) 574-9977.
This story can be found at: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servle...