Pigeons ?may hold answer to bird flu'
By Caroline Innes
AN EAST Lancashire pigeon fancier today warned that more must be done to protect racing pigeons as they may provide a cure for bird flu!
Brian Dearn, of Priory Drive, Darwen, spoke out after the Telegraph revealed that hungry Peregrine falcons nesting at the top of India Mill in the town were decimating the racing pigeon population.
Mr Dearn, who kept pigeons for 40 years, has been forced to retire from the traditional sport as he couldn't afford to keep replacing his racers which were increasingly being targeted by the birds of prey.
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And as two other Darwen fanciers revealed the falcons had forced them into retirement, Mr Dearn called for more to be done to save racing pigeons as they may provide a solution to finding a vaccine against bird flu.
Mr Dearn said: "I think it is about time that people realised the importance of the humble pigeon.
"Not only did they play a vital role during both World Wars but could also give scientists vital information about how to combat bird flu."
American scientists who had been working to understand and develop a cure for bird flu since the 1970s have looked at the pigeon's resistance to the bug as a potential solution.
In one experiment, researchers squirted into pigeons' mouths liquid drops that contained the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus from a Hong Kong sample of bird flu.
The birds got about 100 to 1,000 times the concentration that wild birds would encounter in nature and yet none of the pigeons was infected.
Mr Dearn added: "In 1983 there was an outbreak of Newcastle disease among birds and poultry.
"As racing pigeons are routinely vaccinated they were resistant to it and were the only birds who were not infected.
"It seems now that they also have a resistance to bird flu.
"In two or three years scientists may be able to isolate why there is this resistance and use it as either a cure for bird flu or as a vaccine."
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "Although I am not aware of any particular research in the UK into a new vaccine for bird flu using pigeons, there is research going on across the world for which pigeons could well be useful."
By Caroline Innes
AN EAST Lancashire pigeon fancier today warned that more must be done to protect racing pigeons as they may provide a cure for bird flu!
Brian Dearn, of Priory Drive, Darwen, spoke out after the Telegraph revealed that hungry Peregrine falcons nesting at the top of India Mill in the town were decimating the racing pigeon population.
Mr Dearn, who kept pigeons for 40 years, has been forced to retire from the traditional sport as he couldn't afford to keep replacing his racers which were increasingly being targeted by the birds of prey.
continued...
And as two other Darwen fanciers revealed the falcons had forced them into retirement, Mr Dearn called for more to be done to save racing pigeons as they may provide a solution to finding a vaccine against bird flu.
Mr Dearn said: "I think it is about time that people realised the importance of the humble pigeon.
"Not only did they play a vital role during both World Wars but could also give scientists vital information about how to combat bird flu."
American scientists who had been working to understand and develop a cure for bird flu since the 1970s have looked at the pigeon's resistance to the bug as a potential solution.
In one experiment, researchers squirted into pigeons' mouths liquid drops that contained the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus from a Hong Kong sample of bird flu.
The birds got about 100 to 1,000 times the concentration that wild birds would encounter in nature and yet none of the pigeons was infected.
Mr Dearn added: "In 1983 there was an outbreak of Newcastle disease among birds and poultry.
"As racing pigeons are routinely vaccinated they were resistant to it and were the only birds who were not infected.
"It seems now that they also have a resistance to bird flu.
"In two or three years scientists may be able to isolate why there is this resistance and use it as either a cure for bird flu or as a vaccine."
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "Although I am not aware of any particular research in the UK into a new vaccine for bird flu using pigeons, there is research going on across the world for which pigeons could well be useful."
