b'Is Factory Farming making us sick?Routes of transmission go unnoticed. The severe form, however, Birds shed the virus in their saliva, nasalmay kill almost 100 per cent of infected secretions and faeces. It can enter farmedbirds within 48 hours. In 1997, a Hong Kong poultry units through supplies, cages,farmer described the symptoms of H5N1 clothes, delivery vehicles, mammals andin chickens: Their bodies began shaking even insects; and diseased material canas if they were suffocating and thick saliva leave the units in the same way 13 . Peoplestarted coming out of their mouths. The are most likely to pick up the bug throughfaces went dark green and black and then direct contact with secretions fromthey died. Pathologists have found that the infected birds, which means farmers andvirus had reduced the birds internal organs slaughterers are most at risk.to a bloody pulp 17 .Following slaughter, the birds internalSymptoms in peopleorgans are removed, during which processInitial symptoms include a high fever and the intestines are often ripped. One studyother influenza-like symptoms. Diarrhoea, found that 42 birds who followed a rippedvomiting, abdominal pain, chest pain and carcass of an infected bird on the linebleeding from the nose and gums have also were cross infected 14 . Gerald Kuester, abeen reported as early symptoms in some United States Department of Agriculturepatients. The disease can progress and microbiologist said: At the end of the line,cause multiple organ failure and death 18 . the birds are no cleaner than if they had been dipped in the toilet. 15 TreatmentHundreds of millions of chickens and ducks While the H5N1 strain has a mortality ratehave been killed across South East Asia in of about 60 per cent, it cannot pass easilyan effort to prevent the virus spreading from from one human to another 16 . As the virusbirds to people. However, the widespread mutates, however, the potential for humanuse of Amantadine in birds has rendered to human transmission increases, as doesthat drug useless for treating people with the potential for a pandemic.H5N1 19 . Resistance to Tamiflu (another antiviral drug) has also been detected in Symptoms in animals patients with the H7N9 strain 20 . However, The mild form of influenza producesantivirals are still administered to patients symptoms, including respiratory problems,to help reduce the severity of the condition, so inconspicuous that the outbreak mayprevent complications and improve their chances of survival 21 . 7'