Guest guest Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 press-release What's Really Behind the Bird Flu Outbreaks? Tue, 19 Sep 2006 20:51:20 +0100 (BST) The Institute of Science in Society Science Society Sustainability http://www.i-sis.org.uk This article can be found on the I-SIS website at http://www.i-sis.org.uk/ ======================================================== ISIS Press Release 19/09/06 **************************** What's Really Behind the Bird Flu Outbreaks? ********************************************* Wild birds, farmyard chickens and people are the victims of bird flu not the perpetrators ( Fowl Play in Bird Flu http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Fowl-Play-in-Bird-Flu.php ) . Intensive poultry farming and globalised poultry trade are to blame for creating and spreading the virus ( What Can You Believe About Bird Flu? http://www.i-sis.org.uk/WCYBABF.php) ; but what really causes bird flu outbreaks? Dr. Sherri Tenpenny points the finger at environmental pollutants that disrupt the immune system, especially dioxins A fully referenced version of this article is posted on ISIS members' website. Details here http://www.i-sis.org.uk/membership.php Key question ignored ********************* Most people would agree that people become sick with a cold or with the flu when their immune system fails or is suppressed. People and chickens in Vietnam appear much more susceptible to the deadly effects of H5N1. Has anyone considered why their immune system fails to protect them? Has anyone investigated what is suppressing the immune system of migratory birds? I posed the question to Dr. Alex Thiermann, President of OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) at the Bird Flu Summit held in Washington DC in the United States, February 27-28, 2006. He answered: " No one is looking at this, in fact, no one has even thought about it. " Reporters and scientists raised the same point during the coffee break. I believe that an in vestigation into the immunosuppressive effects of environmental chemicals, particularly dioxins, may shed light on the seemingly scattered and disconnected outbreaks of bird flu around globe. The association between dioxin and influenza may explain the high death rate in Indonesia. What is Bird Flu? ***************** Influenza viruses are divided into three distinct categories, type A, B, or C, and a large number of subtypes. The outer shell of influenza A viruses is covered with two types of protein antigens: haemagglutinin, (H or HA), and neuraminidase (N or NA). The differences between the H and the N antigens provide the basis for classifying and naming all the many s ubtypes of influenza type A viruses. Influenza A subtypes are either " mildly pathogenic, " causing minimal or no disease, or " highly pathogenic, " causing serious illnesses and death, particularly among birds. All outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) viruses since the 1980s have been due to antigen subtypes H5 and H7. The bird flu virus in the news is a highly pathogenic subtype H5N1. See Fowl Play in Bird Flu [1] for further details. Dioxins the most toxic chemical on earth **************************************** `Dioxins' is a general term for a complex family of more than 400 chemicals. Dioxins are by-products of industrial processes that combine chlorine with organic substances such as wood, pulp or paper, in the presence of heat. Production facilities that manufacture pesticides, smelt copper and bleach paper all release dioxins. Dioxins can also enter the environment through the incineration of plastics, particularly those that burn municipal and medical waste. Read the rest of this article here http://www.i-sis.org.uk/WRBTBFO.php ======================================================== This article can be found on the I-SIS website at http://www.i-sis.org.uk/ If you like this original article from the Institute of Science in Society, and would like to continue receiving articles of this calibre, please consider making a donation or purchase on our website http://www.i-sis.org.uk/donations. ISIS is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing critical public information on cutting edge science, and to promoting social accountability and ecological sustainability in science. ======================================================== CONTACT DETAILS The Institute of Science in Society, PO Box 51885, London NW2 9DH telephone: [44 20 8452 2729] [44 20 7272 5636] Foe email details, see http://www.i-sis.org.uk/contact.php MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT EXPLICIT PERMISSION. FOR PERMISSION, PLEASE CONTACT ISIS at http://www.i-sis.org.uk/contact2.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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