Thursday, May 24, 2007

Alternative theory of avian flu, and possibly SARS



The Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) has an interesting article speculating on bird flu. They suggest modern style intensive poultry farming, genetic engineering, plus environmental pollution by dioxin and maybe Agent Orange are to be blamed, rather than backyard chickens and migratory birds.

When one thinks about it, folks around the world have lived, and continue to live closely with their domestic fowls in unwholesome conditions. That is not necessarily a good idea -- it's unpleasant and may spread diseases e.g. psittacosis. Before the existence of genetic engineering and industrial pollution, animals living close to humans can contribute to the creation of pretty lethal human epidemic, such as rodents and fleas to the bubonic plague. Migratory birds may carry pathogens around, too.

Still, why avian flu now and why in SE Asia in particular? There's no proof that recent changes such as industrial pollution and industrial animal farming are innocent. If fact, it not impossible that they are the real cause of the spread of avian flu. It's just a matter of economic and political power: the agribusiness behemoth gets a subsidy, while small farmers in Vietnam see their flock destroyed (sometimes without compensation), and wild migratory birds get blamed more as they are not represented in human societies at all.

This reminds me of the SARS breakout in 2002-03, because a lot of similar factors apply, and the media also blamed it on traditional small-scale animal farming. The origin place, Guangdong Province, was the earliest center of export manufacturing in China, therefore is considerably polluted. Huge animal farms may not be many there. Yet in place of them there are a large number of migrant workers who are poorly paid (hence poorly fed), living in crowded dormitories, and often the first victims of the aforementioned pollution. Viola, you got the incubator going. It's just a matter of when something deadly comes out. As Louis Pasteur allegedly said: "the microbe is nothing, the terrain is all"...

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