Birds Korea: Poultry Flu
Biodiversity is the web of life. We are part of it and it surrounds us, so degradation and loss of biodiversity has multiple implications for us all. Take the latest outbreaks of High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), or “Poultry Flu”. In mid-January, a poultry farm in North Jeolla Province, only 50 km from downtown Gwangju, reported an outbreak of disease that was killing hundreds of domesticated ducks. Within a few days, the poultry flu outbreak had spread from the farm to a nearby agricultural reservoir and also to other farms. Although this virus at present poses no danger to people, for over a week TV screens have broadcast sinister-looking images of officials in white biohazard suits, blocking roads and spraying vast quantities of disinfectant into the environment. And we are told without hesitation by national media: “Migratory Ducks (are) To Blame for (the) Outbreak” (Korea Times, January 20th).
What has this to do with loss of biodiversity? Reference to scientific literature confirms that the present strain of this virus (H5N8) has never before been found in wild birds. It also reveals that in order for Low Pathogenic strains of avian influenza to become High Pathogenic (when the disease becomes deadly), the virus usually needs to first pass multiple times through the respiratory tracts of other birds. This can only happen when birds remain in very close proximity to each other, in unnaturally confined conditions. These are not the conditions of natural ecosystems. They are, however, the typical conditions of modern, industrial-scale poultry farms, where many thousands of chickens and ducks are held dreadfully cramped and confined, effectively sealed off from the outside.
In the wild, most birds are quite fastidious about hygiene. They spend long periods preening to maintain feather condition; adults of most species remove fecal sacks from the nest; and some, like cranes, prefer to roost in running water so that their droppings are washed away. Therefore, while Low Pathogenic influenza strains are common in wild birds (as they are in people), they very rarely develop into High Pathogenic strains.
The nationwide loss of most natural wetland to agriculture and industry means that the majority of Korea’s waterbirds are now forced to use agricultural areas for feeding and roosting. The Baikal Teal, a spectacularly patterned bird honored in Birds Korea’s logo, is one such waterbird species. Baikal Teal have no choice but to feed on spilled rice grains left over from the last harvest. This can bring them close to poultry farms and to infected manure or droppings.
There is already abundant evidence that poor biosecurity within the poultry industry has enabled the transfer of “Poultry Flu” both to other farms and to the wider environment. There is, by contrast, no documented case of a Baikal Teal flying in and out through sealed entrances into a poultry farm. Baikal Teal are not infecting poultry.
These disease outbreaks are the result of human actions that have degraded the natural environment and wild birds and poultry are the victims.