Why do animal/human health problems seem to recur so quickly?
Densely populated livestock areas are vulnerable to the introduction and spread of infectious diseases, and this is compounded by the presence of forest reserves and open water bodies in the production area, movement of animals, contamination of lorries, feed and other supplies, and hygiene on farms, the processing chain and markets. The widespread infections of commercial poultry flocks in many countries of Asia is not a total surprise. The region is known to form an influenza epicentre where birds, other animals and humans live closely together in conditions where viruses have the greatest opportunity to pass from one species to another. A number of conditions make transmission to humans of a variety of disease agents more likely, including poor sanitation of chicken stalls in retail outlets, the proximity of markets to living areas, the absence of central slaughtering facilities, and, the practice of slaughtering chickens at the retail outlets without veterinary inspection. More in
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