OldDog/NewTricks
Well-known member
The One Thing That May Be Missing from Your Emergency
Flu Kit: THE FACTS
Getting Accurate Scientific Information on the Current H1N1 Influenza Outbreak
from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST)
Only three letters need to be removed from the word “PANDEMIC” to create “PANIC,”
but those “missing pieces” profoundly impact the result. Likewise, there also are critical “missing
pieces” in some of the information currently circulating on the recent outbreak of H1N1 Influenza.
Often, such misinformation simply builds on other misinformation, sensationalizing it along
the way. “Missing the pieces” can have serious repercussions, not only triggering unnecessary
concern and confusion, but sometimes diverting attention and derailing focus, thereby creating
“pseudo-crises” that can impede progress on the primary issue.
This week several information sources have implicated swine and corporate farms as the
source of H1N1 influenza virus and the means of its proliferation. Although there is no scientific
basis for these allegations, they have been passed along—and built upon—as if there were.
Repercussions have been felt in the global trade and food safety sectors, bringing the possibility of
down markets and a rise in public health concerns about the food supply.
The United Nations World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the World Organisation of Animal Health
(among others, see below) have identified the H1N1-A influenza virus as a human-to-human
disease, with no relationship to consuming pork.
CAST’s 37-year mission has been—and continues to be—to “assemble, interpret, and
communicate, credible, science-based information” without motive, expectation, or agenda.
“People, companies, and organizations can be hurt by the communication of misinformation,” says
Dr. Henry Shands, CAST President. “As members and supporters of CAST and its mission, it is
our duty to encourage a responsible approach and wait for a definitive response from
knowledgeable scientists and officials before casting blame on any one element. This is not the time
to assign blame; it is the time to unify our resolve and work together to contain the spread of this
virus and develop successful means for treating those who have been affected.”
Within the past 3 years, CAST has published several papers reflecting ongoing challenges to
global health, including the following titles:
2
Global Risks of Infectious Animal Diseases (IP28; also in Spanish IP 28SPA)
Vaccine Development Using Recombinant DNA Technology (IP 38)
Avian Influenza: Pandemic Concerns (CAST Commentary QTA2006-1)
Avian Influenza: Trade Issues (CAST Commentary QTA2006-2)
Avian influenza Vaccines: Focusing on H5N1 Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPA1) (SP 26)
CAST affirms the words of newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen
Sebelius in urging: “Let science drive the protocol.” For more information on CAST, click HERE. http://www.cast-science.org
GET THE FACTS
—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
—Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
—United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization: http://www.fao.org/
—United Nations News Centre
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=139&Body=swine+flu&Body1=
—U.S. Department of Agriculture
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/04/0131.xml
—World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE): http://www.oie.int/eng/OIE/en_about.htm?e1d1
Additional Resources
—American Veterinary Medical Association:
http://www.avma.org/public_health/influenza/new_virus/default.asp
—International Society for Infectious Diseases: http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1000
—National Pork Board:
http://www.pork.org/NewsAndInformation/WebFeaturePage2.aspx?Id=473
—PandemicFlu.gov
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/index.html
—Senate Agriculture Committee:
http://agriculture.senate.gov/
—USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack:
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/04/
0132.xml
* * *
For further information, contact
John M. Bonner, Executive Vice President, CAST
Tel. 515-292-2125, ext. 25
E-mail: [email protected]
Flu Kit: THE FACTS
Getting Accurate Scientific Information on the Current H1N1 Influenza Outbreak
from the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST)
Only three letters need to be removed from the word “PANDEMIC” to create “PANIC,”
but those “missing pieces” profoundly impact the result. Likewise, there also are critical “missing
pieces” in some of the information currently circulating on the recent outbreak of H1N1 Influenza.
Often, such misinformation simply builds on other misinformation, sensationalizing it along
the way. “Missing the pieces” can have serious repercussions, not only triggering unnecessary
concern and confusion, but sometimes diverting attention and derailing focus, thereby creating
“pseudo-crises” that can impede progress on the primary issue.
This week several information sources have implicated swine and corporate farms as the
source of H1N1 influenza virus and the means of its proliferation. Although there is no scientific
basis for these allegations, they have been passed along—and built upon—as if there were.
Repercussions have been felt in the global trade and food safety sectors, bringing the possibility of
down markets and a rise in public health concerns about the food supply.
The United Nations World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the World Organisation of Animal Health
(among others, see below) have identified the H1N1-A influenza virus as a human-to-human
disease, with no relationship to consuming pork.
CAST’s 37-year mission has been—and continues to be—to “assemble, interpret, and
communicate, credible, science-based information” without motive, expectation, or agenda.
“People, companies, and organizations can be hurt by the communication of misinformation,” says
Dr. Henry Shands, CAST President. “As members and supporters of CAST and its mission, it is
our duty to encourage a responsible approach and wait for a definitive response from
knowledgeable scientists and officials before casting blame on any one element. This is not the time
to assign blame; it is the time to unify our resolve and work together to contain the spread of this
virus and develop successful means for treating those who have been affected.”
Within the past 3 years, CAST has published several papers reflecting ongoing challenges to
global health, including the following titles:
2
Global Risks of Infectious Animal Diseases (IP28; also in Spanish IP 28SPA)
Vaccine Development Using Recombinant DNA Technology (IP 38)
Avian Influenza: Pandemic Concerns (CAST Commentary QTA2006-1)
Avian Influenza: Trade Issues (CAST Commentary QTA2006-2)
Avian influenza Vaccines: Focusing on H5N1 Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPA1) (SP 26)
CAST affirms the words of newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen
Sebelius in urging: “Let science drive the protocol.” For more information on CAST, click HERE. http://www.cast-science.org
GET THE FACTS
—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/
—Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
—United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization: http://www.fao.org/
—United Nations News Centre
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=139&Body=swine+flu&Body1=
—U.S. Department of Agriculture
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/04/0131.xml
—World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE): http://www.oie.int/eng/OIE/en_about.htm?e1d1
Additional Resources
—American Veterinary Medical Association:
http://www.avma.org/public_health/influenza/new_virus/default.asp
—International Society for Infectious Diseases: http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1000
—National Pork Board:
http://www.pork.org/NewsAndInformation/WebFeaturePage2.aspx?Id=473
—PandemicFlu.gov
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/index.html
—Senate Agriculture Committee:
http://agriculture.senate.gov/
—USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack:
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/04/
0132.xml
* * *
For further information, contact
John M. Bonner, Executive Vice President, CAST
Tel. 515-292-2125, ext. 25
E-mail: [email protected]