Word: virus
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Lately, Chisholm has been paying a lot more attention to the news from overseas. Since the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus was first reported in Turkey last fall, avian flu has spread swiftly, landing in France, Germany, Iraq, India, Nigeria, Niger, Poland and many other countries. So far this year, three dozen human cases have been confirmed in China, Turkey, Iraq and Indonesia...
Even if H5N1 remains a problem mostly among birds, however, the virus could have a devastating economic impact on Chisholm and many other farmers and the businesses that depend on them. Poultry sales have already plummeted across Asia and Europe. Overall, U.S. exports of broiler chickens were down 30% in December 2005 compared with the prior year. The greatest danger, however, may be in Africa, where the income, not to mention the food, that chickens provide can mean the difference between life and death...
...avian flu before they leave the chicken house to be slaughtered. All the birds in an infected flock would be put down immediately, and the surrounding area quarantined. "Our strategy is to keep sick birds on the farm," says Richard Lobb of the National Chicken Council. "Once the virus escapes into the environment, it's very hard to control...
...poultry farmers have already learned that hard lesson, having faced outbreaks of other avian flus as recently as 2002 and 2004. H5N1 is only one of more than 100 subtypes of the influenza A virus. The majority of the subtypes are found in birds. A few, such as H3N2 and H1N1, have adapted to infect humans. The 2002 avian outbreak, which struck in Virginia, was the H7N2 subtype, and it illustrated the importance of early detection. "The outbreak was not contained in time and spread to 200 farms up and down the Shenandoah Valley," says Lobb...
...then have led to the understanding that stressing the body by gorging or starving yourself while sick will not improve your health. Although a 2002 research article published in New Scientist suggested that eating and fasting elicit different immune responses that would tackle different types of pathogens (bacteria v. virus), the results were inconclusive. Harvey can’t think of any studies that have shown that drastic changes in eating habits will shorten the duration or ease the symptoms of a cold or fever...