Houston Farmers Market Weekly News

       This is the latest information on the likelihood of Avian Flu reaching the United States, condensed from an article written by Dr. Howard Markel for the New York Times. (The disease is found among domestic poultry raised in close quarters. As we already know, that is a bad idea for a lot of reasons.)

I'll start with the reasoning which supports those who say it is unlikely to reach our shores.
       -migrating birds are the most likely carrier of the virus, and they travel primarily north to south. Since the virus is in the eastern hemisphere and may spread into Europe, none of the flyways traveled by wild birds from those countries would fly into the Americas.
       -if you want to construct scenarios where the virus might be carried by migratory birds, you also have to assume that they would be capable of making the trip of 1000's of miles from the very northern tip of Canada into Texas. Most likely, the disease would weaken them and they would die before reaching us.
       -there is little contact between wild and domesticated birds, so even if sick migrating birds reach us, they are not likely to transmit their disease to domestic poultry.
       -so far, the virus has shown little ability to transmit from birds to humans, and there are no cases of human to human transmission. If these viruses evolve to include this ability, there is a question as to whether they will be as virulent as they currently are in bird to human contact cases.

In its current state, it seems unlikely that we will see an outbreak in the United States. If one does occur, the virus will have to evolve into a human to human virus, and likely will be carried by human travelers from one of the countries where it is currently found. So watch for evidence that it is transmuting into a human to human virus in those areas where it is prevalent.

In the meantime, eat clean, wholesome food from the farmers and artisans of the Houston Farmers Market. You'll bolster your immune system and will be better prepared in the unlikely event of a bird flu pandemic.

Glen Boudreaux
Jolie Vue Farms

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