The Grand Soviet Republic of Seattle

Just another day in the nanny state -- from the Seattle PI:

Urban bird owners get anti-flu advice
Hundreds of undocumented chickens live in Seattle, a clucking time bomb planted right in the urban core that poses just as great a risk for deadly bird flu as any rural chicken should the severe Asian strain of avian influenza ever finds its way to this region.

"All bird owners need to educate themselves how best to protect themselves and their animals," said Valoria Loveland, director of the state Department of Agriculture.

That includes the owners of at least 500 urban chickens living in Seattle backyards. Tuesday, state and federal officials held a public meeting to educate regional small-flock poultry and pet bird owners about the need to use standard "biosecurity" practices to protect against the disease. That included a call for all bird owners to register their flocks to assist with a statewide disease surveillance program.

Bullshit. Avian Flu represents zero danger in a normal urban or suburban settlement. The cases we have seen were in Asian countries where families lived in close proximity with a large number of birds. Overcrowding and poor sanitation were the cause, not the birds themselves. The article then goes on:

When a poultry farm just across the U.S.-Canada border in British Columbia got hit in 2004 by a different form of bird flu (typically known as "highly pathogenic" avian influenza, or HPAI), Kinsel said Washington state officials knew any flock in nearby Whatcom County was at risk for the infection.

The pathogen was something that was basically harmless to humans. Here is an Alberta province website that has an excellent timeline of that entire summer. For that entire outbreak, only two humans got sick. The CDC has the writeup and here is the money quote:

Influenza A H7N3 infection was confirmed in two men (40 and 45 years of age) exposed on different farms March 13 and March 22�23. Both had direct conjunctival contact with infected poultry. One was not wearing eye protection, and the other was wearing glasses that were bypassed by a feather. Neither was taking oseltamivir prophylaxis. Neither was vaccinated against human influenza virus. Symptoms developed 1�3 days after exposure (March 16 and 24). Conjunctivitis and coryza developed in the first patient, and conjunctivitis and headache developed in the second. Both received oseltamivir treatment, and symptoms resolved fully. Active daily surveillance by the local health unit identified no secondary cases.

Since the outbreak started in February and was confined to about a 5 Kilometer radius, these people had one month to know that they might want to take some additional precautions. Seattle is just being Seattle and this is one of the many symptoms of that disease. Very glad to be out of there...