Avian flu in North Korea
North Korea has admitted that bird flu had been detected in several farms near the capital, Pyongyang. State media said hundreds of thousands of chickens had been destroyed to prevent the virus from spreading. WHO has sent diagnostic kits to help the North Koreans determine if the birds died from the deadly H5N1 strain. This strain of bird flu has killed almost 50 people since December 2003.
WHO is very concerned that it could lead to a influenza pandemic.
It is the first known case of the disease, which has wreaked havoc in Southeast Asia and China, to strike North Korea. Two or three chicken factories, including one in Hadang, were recently hit by bird flu, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The Hadang factory is one of five constructed in December 2002 that breeds and processes chickens in Pyongyang.
For poor countries, a large outbreak can be a real catastrophy.
It also shows, once more, that increased global trade in meat products, as well as animal feed, cannot be called "sustainable". Unfortunately, such trade is going to increase, due to the World Trade Organization as well as regional Free Trade Agreements (FTA). For consumers, it means more uncertainity and doubts about the safety of the foods in supermarkets and restaurants. My other concern is that unsafe foods will create huge problems for the farmers who are actually trying to produce safe foods.
WHO is very concerned that it could lead to a influenza pandemic.
It is the first known case of the disease, which has wreaked havoc in Southeast Asia and China, to strike North Korea. Two or three chicken factories, including one in Hadang, were recently hit by bird flu, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The Hadang factory is one of five constructed in December 2002 that breeds and processes chickens in Pyongyang.
For poor countries, a large outbreak can be a real catastrophy.
It also shows, once more, that increased global trade in meat products, as well as animal feed, cannot be called "sustainable". Unfortunately, such trade is going to increase, due to the World Trade Organization as well as regional Free Trade Agreements (FTA). For consumers, it means more uncertainity and doubts about the safety of the foods in supermarkets and restaurants. My other concern is that unsafe foods will create huge problems for the farmers who are actually trying to produce safe foods.
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