Distinguishing knowledge-sharing, knowledge-construction, and knowledge-creation discourses

van Aalst, Jan

First off, let's look at the very definition of 'quarantine.' We're not talking maybe putting up some red tape around affected farms here, we're talking the slaughter and elimination of literally millions of chickens in the US, Canada, and 10 Asian nations including Vietnam and China. The most recent outbreak, in Hong Kong, resulted in the slaughter of about 40,000 poultry; the birds were killed, then bagged for dumping in landfills. This outbreak alone cost the poultry industry the equivalent of US $10.26 million. [Web link] The short-term costs incurred may seem rather drastic, but if the flu can be contained now, by eliminating all possibly infected birds, it will cost far less than trying to contain it later on if there are more outbreaks. I found the following website had some really valuable information concerning Avian Flu outbreaks in the past-there have been 21 large-scale epidemics all over the world, ranging from Australia to Pakistan, and this site talks about the economic impact of each-for example, "The 1983 Pennsylvania (USA) outbreak took 2 years to control. Some 17 million birds were destroyed at a direct cost of US$62 million. Indirect costs have been estimated at more than US$250 million." [Web link]