Scientists Aim to Beat Flu With Genetically Modified Chickens

[callady]

The Times
October 29, 2005

Scientists aim to beat flu with genetically modified chickens
By Mark Henderson, Science Correspondent


THE long-term threat of an avian flu pandemic could be greatly reduced by a project to produce genetically modified chickens that can resist lethal strains of the virus.

British scientists are genetically engineering chickens to protect them against the H5N1 virus that has devastated poultry farms in the Far East, with a view to replacing stocks with birds that are not susceptible to influenza.

The technique should also offer protection against many other strains of flu with the potential to start a human pandemic, such as the H7 subgroup that was responsible for an outbreak in Dutch poultry in 2003.

<snip>

“Once we have regulatory approval, we believe it will only take between four and five years to breed enough chickens to replace the entire world population,” Professor Tiley said. “Developing flu-resistant chickens has clear benefits for human health and animal welfare, as we wouldn’t have to slaughter chickens around the world. Chickens provide a link between the wild bird population, where avian influenza thrives, and humans, where new pandemic strains can emerge. Removing that bridge will dramatically reduce the risk posed by avian viruses.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25149-1847760,00.html

[ret5hd]

1. yeah, that's what we should do...

make sure there's only one genetic line of poultry throughout the entire world...what could go wrong!?!?!?

[KittyWampus]

2. A Master Race Of Anything Is A Fundamentally Unsound Idea

[Island Blue]

7. You're right. And then when they take over the world

we'll be REALLY upset.

[kestrel91316]

4. Hey, it worked for corn in the US in the 50s, IIRC. Oops, wait.

Nevermind.

That didn't work out so well. There was some blight came through and almost wiped out the entire US corn crop in one fell swoop, but fortunately there were some old-time open pollinated (nonhybrid) varieties to save the day.

[fed-up]

5. that would be potatoes in Ireland...looks like I may give up chicken n/t

[kestrel91316]

10. The potato monoculture that got wiped out by blight and caused the

Irish Potato famine was the EIGHTEEN fifties, silly. The corn thing was bad, but didn't starve people. And was in the NINETEEN fifties, IIRC. After hybrids came to the fore.

[fshrink]

6. lol!!!

[Eric J in MN]

3. Becuase giving chickens more space would cost

corporations money, but some corporation can make big bucks off owning the patent to the world's chickens.

[callady]

8. AH5N1 Does Not Currently Have Capacity to Cause Pandemic-UK Journal

Editorial

Bird flu and pandemic flu
What's the message for GPs and hospital doctors?


The extensive media coverage of avian influenza (bird flu) over recent weeks has caused confusion and increasing concern that bird flu will imminently cause a human pandemic. This has been fuelled by the report of a parrot infected by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in the United Kingdom this week. Is such a pandemic a flight of fantasy or a dead cert?

The influenza pandemic contingency plan presented by the chief medical officer1 is clear and comprehensive, but at nearly 450 pages, 11 downloadable documents, and many web links, it may not be ready reading for busy health professionals.

<snip>

The lack of sustained human-to-human transmission suggests that this AH5N1 avian virus does not currently have the capacity to cause a human pandemic. But, given the known potential for antigenic shift—either from a gradual process of adaptive genetic mutation within the virus or by a snap gene reassortment with a human influenza A virus6—the virus could acquire the mechanism for rapid human transmission and cause explosive global spread, facilitated by current air travel. Pigs and humans seem to be the "mixing vessels" for genetic exchange when coinfected by both animal and human flu viruses. Close domestic proximity of fowl, pigs, and people facilitates this, a situation common in Asia.

The optimistic alternative to this apocalyptic viewpoint is that the appearance of a modified avian virus capable of triggering a human pandemic is unlikely: there have been more than 3300 flu outbreaks in birds with 150 million killed and only 118 human cases,3 5 and the disease in birds is proving containable with good surveillance and prompt action. Early mass use of neuraminidase antiviral drugs has also been recommended as a containment strategy for any local nascent human pandemic in Asia.7 So a pandemic may occur some time in the future, but not necessarily linked to bird flu.

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/331/7523/97...

Conveniently ignoring today's report the cavalry in white lab coats will come to rescue us from the concoctions of industrial society.

[madeline_con]

13. Tyson and Perdue are 2 n/t

[anotherdrew]

9. while they're at it let's make Humans flu-resistant too

who's afraid of a little germ-line modification? hell, what could go wrong? We know everything about genetics! :woohoo:
:sarcasm:

[Straight Shooter]

11. "Whooops! Sorry. We just invented a line of poultry-originated HIV."

Sometimes I get a little paranoid when I think of what can go wrong. :tinfoilhat:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

12. It could have its points...

for example:

[demobabe]

14. Eek! Frankenchickens!

What happens when these genetically modified chickens die from some other illness?

Flu quickly changes, which is why each year the flu shots are different. Last year's flu shot won't protect you against this year's flu.

With all the chickens genetically modified, isn't this literally putting all the eggs in one basket?

[shireen]

15. next step: genetically-modified people. n/t

[callady]

18. I like that idea

can we isolate the greed gene and eliminate that.

But wait, isn't television doing all the modification already.

We do what we're told (milgrams 37)

[xchrom]

16. how hard do they have to hit the flu with the chickens?

does it hurt the chickens?

how many chickens does it take?

[are_we_united_yet]

17. Great Idea!

not