H5 Anyone?

You can bet your bottom dollar that we haven't seen the end of H5N1, or as we like to call it, BIRD FLU.

Honestly, I think we need to change that name.

Original public domain image from Flickr

Whenever we have a problem, you can bet that we humans have had a hand in it. We love to eat, and we love to travel wherever and whenever we want. Let's talk about eating for a minute. We eat a lot, and we eat whatever tickles our taste buds. In the Far East, they sell live chickens in markets, and that means they're all huddled together, sometimes right next to people. Cleanliness, as we know it in the West, is practically nonexistent. H5N1 took advantage of this, as these poor birds lived in their own mess, and the virus found a way to infect more than just our feathered friends. In fact, there have been 457 confirmed human deaths from H5N1, but I'm pretty sure the actual number is much higher. Most of these cases probably involve humans catching the virus from birds.

However, recently in Cambodia, a child died from H5N1, and the father tested positive too. Did they both get it from the same source, or has H5N1 figured out how to jump from human to human? The World Health Organization (WHO) is still looking into it.

We've learned a lot from dealing with COVID-19, particularly how human travel is like a superhighway for viruses. We're addicted to travel, and we're also addicted to trade. We ship animals, dead or alive, all around the globe. Birds are expert travelers, and they've been doing it long before we ever thought of it. Thanks to us, diseases in birds that can infect mammals are now a real problem.

Not only are seabirds dropping dead in massive numbers on our coasts, but seals and foxes are also getting sick. This is a global issue. In Argentina, a colony of elephant seals has been hit hard, and H5N1 has even made its way to the Antarctic, putting penguins at risk.

Here in our comfy Western world, it's easy for us to point fingers at "wet markets" in Cambodia or China for the H5N1 outbreak. But our booming global population has put the squeeze on everything else in the world. We're partly to blame, and we're also victims of the problems we've created.

Image courtesy of The African Union Mission in Somalia via Wikimedia Commons.

Now, here's a scary thought: H5N1 can be spread through faeces. According to Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss, "The H5N1 variant is extremely virulent, with just one teaspoon of faeces enough to contaminate tens of thousands of birds."

And Professor Devi Sridhar of Edinburgh University says, "The UK should be preparing for a bird flu pandemic."

H5N1 thrives in crowded conditions and poor sanitation. Given all of this, we should take a hard look at our own habits. A lot of us have bird feeders in our gardens. We invite birds of all kinds to come hang out in one spot. In many ways, what we do might be worse than those "wet markets" in the Far East. It may look natural, but it's not. We're being manipulated by an unregulated industry, and we've destroyed the habitats of many of our wildlife.

Finches Friend was born from the decline of our finches, thanks to wild bird feeding and feeders. Trichomonosis, a parasitic disease, started in densely populated pigeon populations in Western countries and then spread to wild birds through feeders. It wiped out finches, and the industry's response was to add "please clean me" signs. The reaction to H5N1 isn't much stronger. It doesn't affect tits and finches? Really? Our bird tables and bird baths, along with feeders that encourage birds to defecate or walk in the food, provide the perfect environment for H5N1. It shows up on our doorstep every day with a new variation, experimenting until it finds the winning formula to infect more species. It's like Darwinism in overdrive.

So, here's my advice: If you want to feed the birds, do it responsibly. Limit the number of species that can feed at one time, skip the bird tables and baths, and make sure the food stays dry. Clean everything at least once a week, and do it outside while wearing gloves. Use hot water, detergent, and disinfectant. If you're providing water, make sure the birds can't walk or defecate in it. A dirty puddle is much safer for our feathered friends than a fancy bird bath.

At Finches Friend, we're the only wild bird feeder manufacturer with disease transmission control at the heart of our mission.

Stay safe,

Dick Woods

References - https://www.nfuonline.com/updates-and-information/nfu23-strengthening-business-resilience-in-the-poultry-sector/