Weak Strain Of Bird Flu Found At Sun Valley Farm, U.S.

http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_333212149.html

CBS) SUN VALLEY Japanese quails suffering from a low pathogenic strain of bird flu were discovered in a Sun Valley quail farm.

The Bureau of Humane Law Enforcement, a non-governmental, nonprofit organization devoted to defending animals, began investigating conditions at the now-defunct L.A. Quail Farm earlier this year.

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The bureau’s veterinarian determined many of the birds had a variety of diseases, fast-moving respiratory ailments, infections, injuries and lesions. Most disturbing was the diagnosis of a low pathogenic strain of avian influenza among the quails, which had been raised and kept at the facility.

The birds had been raised for human consumption

than the low pathogenic strain of bird flu.

H5N1 flu strains are common among birds, and I've seen numerous reports that confused even other pathogenic strains with the current H5N1 avian flu epizootic virus. They're not the same beast.

on edit-- OK, I just read the article in the OP, which loaded very slowly. It simply says that the birds had a "low pathogenic avian flu," which could be damn nearly anything EXCEPT the H5N1 epizootic strain. This is another case of a journalist going off half-cocked (and even less informed).

We may write off these stories as" merely trying to scare us"
but it is a great possibility that if there ever were a pandemic
that it would likely spread quickly through all the major cities.

Stay healthy!!
AND Don't eat ANIMALS!!!

This is a strain of flu that is NOT the H5N1 version that has resulted in human deaths.

There are just about always "bird flu"-infected birds somewhere in the United States; what matters is the *strain* of the flu involved.

Tucker

Mild strain of bird flu found in N. Carolina

Thu Dec 1, 7:17 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkeys at a farm in North Carolina tested positive for a mild, low-pathogenic strain of bird flu which is common in birds and poses no threat to humans, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Thursday.

Routine tests conducted on poultry in North Carolina found the H3N2 strain of bird flu in turkeys on a farm in Sampson County, in the eastern part of the state, the USDA said.

A much more serious strain of the disease, known as H5N1, has been found in Asia and Eastern Europe and been blamed for 68 deaths.

The low-pathogenic disease found in North Carolina has appeared elsewhere in the United States this year, according to USDA.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051202/us_nm/birdflu_usa_northcarolina_dc