Just for the record Fred Landeg is not the Chief Veterinary Officer, but
Deputy C.V.O.

It's (Dr) Debby Reynolds.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/cvo/index.htm

With that in mind one wonders how reliable the rest of this report is!

Keith



"Geoff" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 9 Jan 2007 09:48:39 -0000, "Pat Gardiner"
wrote:


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...537281,00.html


The TimesJanuary 09, 2007


Jabs for farmers to combat bird flu
David Rose
· Free vaccination for poultry workers
· Strains 'could mix and mutate'

Thousands of poultry workers are to be offered free influenza jabs in an
attempt to stop new forms of bird flu emerging.
More than 60,000 farmers, vets and others who have close contact with
poultry will be eligible for vaccinations against seasonal human flu.

The Department of Health hopes that the vaccine will cut the risk that the
workers may catch human and bird flu viruses at the same time, allowing
the
viruses to mutate and create new, contagious strains.

Poultry workers will join the elderly, sufferers of chronic conditions and
their carers as part of the "at-risk" groups considered most vulnerable to
flu.

At a briefing to announce the plans, Fred Landeg, the Chief Veterinary
Officer, said that very cold weather could increase the risk of bird flu
coming to Britain this year.

David Salisbury, the Department of Health's director of immunisation,
emphasised yesterday that avian flu was a disease of birds and posed a
risk
only to people who had prolonged contact with infected birds. He said:
"The
immunisation programme we are announcing today is a precautionary measure
which reduces any very low risk of a pandemic flu virus emerging in the
UK.
There are concerns that those who work in close contact with poultry and
who
could also contract human seasonal influenza could act as a mixing vessel
for new forms of bird flu if they became infected with an existing strain.

"You end up with something that has genetic material from two different
viruses and then you have no immunity at all because you have got a
completely new virus. These are theoretical concerns but are viewed as
significant and so should be managed."

He said that a cold spell in Eastern Europe could cause lakes and the sea
to
freeze, prompting migratory birds to head west towards Britain in search
of
open water.

Information packs are being sent to all registered poultry farmers - those
who keep flocks of more than 50 birds - as well as approved
slaughterhouses
in England.

People regarded as poultry workers include some members of the State
Veterinary Service, and those who routinely access poultry-rearing or
egg-production areas, those who catch, handle and kill live birds and
those
who regularly collect and remove poultry manure from enclosed units.

The Department of Health has bought additional doses of the seasonal flu
jab
for the programme, which will run from January 22 to the end of March.

It said that it would not take vaccination doses from stocks intended for
other high-risk groups.

It has also pledged an extra £500,000 for NHS trusts to administer the
vaccinations.

Earlier this year there were fears that vulnerable people could miss out
on
their jab after the Government confirmed stocks would arrive late.
But Dr Salisbury said that, by December, the supply had overtaken that for
the same period the previous year.



I don't see why we should protect the industry that is causing the
epidemics! We cant even provide enough flu jabs, on time, for the
really vulnerable as it is.

Giving flu jabs Jan to March is next to worthless, and certainly
pointless.
--


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The logic some people use for not attending church, is used to avoid
washing

1.I was forced to as a child.
2.People who make soap are only after your money.
3.I wash on special occasions like Christmas and Easter.
4.People who wash are hypocrites-they think they are cleaner than everyone
else.
5.There are so many different kinds of soap,I can't decide which one is
best.
6.I used to wash, but it got boring so I stopped.
7.None of my friends wash.
8.The bathroom is never warm enough in the winter or cool enough in the
summer.
9.I'll start washing when I get older and dirtier.
10.I can't spare the time .