Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

Dr. Greger succeeds where virtually everyone else misses the mark on avian influenza and the coming pandemic -- bringing together the historical, medical, ecological, agricultural, viral, and economic factors that have contributed to the "hatching" of this new disease threat. The human choices and decisions that are evident at every turn in the history of H5N1 call to mind the Titanic: 1500 people drowned not solely because the ship hit an iceberg, but because of decisions about the design of the decks and the underwater compartments, reflecting priorities that had consequences for people's lives. The iceberg exposed those decisions for historic reflection. Blaming disasters on "nature" gets us off the hook every time.

The same attitude prevails in the official rhetoric about avian viruses and the pandemic that lies "dead ahead." Virtually all of the official emergency preparedness materials and health department websites echo the mantra that because influenza viruses are natural (true), therefore H5N1 is natural(not entirely) and consequently, this particular pandemic is also "natural" (not so).

With eloquence and precision, Dr. Greger pulls apart and then weaves together the mix of natural and manmade threads that comprise the H5N1 tapestry. Citing data from hundreds of scientific and lay sources within multiple disciplines, he overcomes the compartmentalization that characterizes almost all other approaches to analyzing the origins and characteristics of the virus itself, without diluting the rigor of scientific analysis.

Dr Greger examines the totality of variables that engender and accelerate ongoing genetic mutations within H5N1. He takes us step by step through the process whereby a harmless waterborne duck virus has become a deadly airborne chicken killer that now threatens all of humanity. The result is to allow us finally to understand why we are staring down the barrel of this pandemic gun and that we ourselves (well, some of us....) designed and loaded it.

It is time to abandon the fiction that the emergence of such an unprecedented disease threat to humanity is entirely a "natural" phenomenon just doing its evolutionary "thing." One can only hope that this book will finally enable us to stop talking about the inevitable pandemic as if it has nothing to do with the drastic changes in food production methods worldwide over the last 15-20 years.

The book is brilliantly organized, meticulously documented, and provides absolutely essential background and depth for anyone who wants to know more than the superficial rhetoric currently available to the public. The scientific community would be well advised to read this book, as well, in order to acquire a more interdisciplinary and contextual perspective appropriate for the era of globalization.

Although "Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching" is harrowing in its implications, it is nonetheless hopeful. As Dr. Greger points out, only when we grasp the extent to which our factory farming methods provide the "host density" without which H5N1 would not be threatening us, will we be capable of considering our options for the post-pandemic future. In the meantime, we are all going to pay the price for the choices that have been made.

Much of what is said in this book could be blown off as hype if you are one who trusts mainstream news sources. Dr Greger must be aware of this, as he cites every single source that his information comes from with painstaking detail. The final 1/3 of this book contains all of the references, mainly from scientists and government who probably have some idea of what they are talking about.

Ominously, I received a guide from the government on how to prepare for a flu pandemic as I read this book. The implications of what could happen to our civilization should the bird flu virus mutate from poultry to humans and then from human to human is quite frightening. Dr Greger shows in this book how that is not only possible but even likely due to the way modern agriculture keeps birds in intensively overcrowded conditions where viruses are free to mutate and become more effective at spreading.

As a spiritual person I believe that the way we have turned food animals into genetically modified Frankenstein creatures who live lives of intense confinement, torture and abuse is asking for karmic retribution. Dr Greger perhaps does not share this belief, but he lays the facts and science of pandemics out in a way that is hard for even the most scientifically-minded atheist to refute. We are on the brink of a apocalyptic catastrophe and what is being done to avert it is next to nothing. I hope this book will wake some people up and maybe we can rethink our values in time to save ourselves from disaster.

BIRD FLU: A VIRUS OF OUR OWN HATCHING opens not with H5N1, the modern day "bird flu virus" which has the potential to mutate into the deadliest pandemic that the world has ever seen, but with H1N1, the influenza virus responsible for the 1918 flu pandemic. In just two short years, an estimated 50 to 100 million people perished as World War I raged on.

As described by author Michael Greger, MD, in chilling detail:

"What started for millions around the globe as muscle aches and a fever ended days later with many victims bleeding from their nostrils, ears, and eye sockets. Some bled inside their eyes; some bled around them. They vomited blood and coughed it up. Purple blood blisters appeared on their skin. [...] [The Chief of the Medical Services, Major Walter V. Brem] wrote that `often blood was seen to gush from a patient's nose and mouth.' In some cases, blood reportedly spurted with such force as to squirt several feet. `When pneumonia appeared,' Major Brem recounted, `the patients often spat quantities of almost pure blood.' They were bleeding into their lungs."

Yet, H1N1 had a "low" (relatively speaking) mortality rate of 2.5% to 5%. Compare that to H5N1, which thus far has killed 55% of those infected - and one must wonder why the possibility of bird flu pandemic is confined to occasional media reports that are quickly dwarfed by the latest Hollywood gossip. Is bird flu-inspired panic just another example of media sensationalism?

Not so, argues Greger. From 1918 he transitions seamlessly to the research laboratories of today. Greger, who is Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States and "an internationally recognized lecturer on public health issues", launches into Viral Biology 101, explaining in layman's terms how a virus reproduces, spreads, mutates, and interacts with its host. Though he's dealing with (arguably) dry subject matter, Greger manages to keep the discussion engaging via the liberal use of colorful analogies and sharp, witty prose. This isn't your high school bio textbook.

Once a basic understanding of viruses has been established, Dr. Greger addresses modern animal agriculture, specifically, how it's especially conducive to the transmission and evolution of avian influenza. Animals, particularly "broiler" (meat) and "laying" (egg) hens, are packed into windowless sheds by the thousands; by the time they're fully grown just 45 days later (in the case of broiler hens), they don't even have enough space to spread their wings or turn around. Chickens are selectively bred for fast growth or maximum egg production - much to the detriment of their immune systems. Rather than improve the birds' ability to stave off disease (which would come at the expense of their "energy efficiency"), large-scale corporate "factory farmers" opt to pump their livestock full of antibiotics, thus contributing to bacterial resistance in humans. Add to this mix the fact that chickens literally spend their short lives wallowing in their own feces (and sometimes even that of previously butchered flocks), and you've got the perfect environment for a virus such as H5N1 to thrive.

And thrive it has. The billions of chickens, turkeys, and pigs raised and slaughtered for food annually act like "petri dishes" in which avian influence can mingle, swapping genetic material in order to mutate, gradually evolving into a strain more lethal and infectious to humans. Their compromised immune systems and unsanitary and stressful living conditions only facilitate this process. Despite numerous attempts at eradicating the virus - for example, by wiping out entire flocks of chickens, to the tune of millions of birds at a time - H5N1 (along with additional viral strains) can still be found on many farms, throughout the world.

While some critics - particularly those in the animal agriculture industry - dismiss this as scare mongering, Greger argues his points convincingly, and offers a wealth of evidence to support his claims. Indeed, his "Reference" section spans an impressive 90 pages! Throughout the text, he quotes a myriad of experts in the field, including Robert Webster, Kennedy F. Shortridge, and Michael Osterholm, as well as health professionals from the USDA, CDC, FAO, and WHO. Even "food scientists" admit - in the comfort and familiarity of their own trade journals, mind you - that the industry is flirting with disaster. The general - nay, unanimous - consensus seems to be "when, not if."

A pandemic is inevitable, that is, unless we swiftly and dramatically move away from factory farming methods towards less intense animal agriculture methods, such as free range farming. Additionally, this must be preceded by a temporary global moratorium on meat and egg production, in order to eradicate the bird flu virus(es) already present in farm animals worldwide. None of which is bloody likely to happen.

Thus, Greger urges readers to take precautions before a pandemic hits. He recommends obtaining and filling a prescription for Tamiflu (the more effective of two antivirals used to treat avian influenza), as well as stocking up on necessary groceries and such - TODAY. Greger also advises readers on how to purify water with bleach, and concoct cheap, homemade hand sanitizer. Oh, and do make sure you have plenty of liquor, cigarettes and ammo on hand, just in case the world reverts to the barter system! Though Greger reiterates and even elaborates upon government-issued pandemic guidelines in this last section, I didn't exactly walk away with a sense of empowerment. The rest of BIRD FLU was so horrifying that stocking up on canned veggies and medical masks won't do much to ease my troubled mind.

Whether you're a vegan, a carnivore, an average Jane, a state Senator, an animal welfarist, or a hunter, BIRD FLU is one book you can't afford to ignore. For too long, we've been playing chicken with our food supply - and nature may soon see fit to reward our taste for cheap meat with a global pandemic.