Bird Flu and Badminton: is it scaring?

[redkingjoe]

In some of the Asian countries, bird flu is out of control. some ppl were also getting infected.

According to a leading specialist form Scotland, Professor Hugh Pennington, the virus of the bird flu can be attached to feather products from Asia. It is completely possible that the virus can pass on to the birds in other countries... when we play badminton, are we having a higher risk on passing the bird flu around(including ourselves)?

if they banned the feather products from Asia, will the cost of playing badminton be increased deeply?

[Shady]

This is really interesting because if found to be true there will be issues in the exporting of feathers and that could mean a worldwide shortage of shuttles. :cool:

[Loafer]

You see i KNEW there was an argument FOR playing with plastics.

[Loafer]

I guess you just have to play in environmental suits, or just stop chewing the shuttles.....

[Phil McBride]

Or the simple answer of rinsing the featherw with some kind of high powered bleach or antiseptic type substance to get rid of the germs before they are used to make shuttles, afterall if it is airborne there is no better way to spread it than shuttles flying through the air.

But just in case we had the same scare about 2 years ago and nothing ever came of it.

T minus 1 and counting

[redkingjoe]

This is really interesting because if found to be true there will be issues in the exporting of feathers and that could mean a worldwide shortage of shuttles. :cool:

actually, 2 years back from now, there were huge out break of bird-flu in the southern China...and the price of the shuttles went up for 10-20%(depending on brands) in HK suddenly!!! if these guys try to sterilise the feathers(as suggested by PHOL) and pack the shuttles in vacuum, who knows how much they will charge us....seems like we need to re-consider the plastics or synthetic feather...you know bird flu is even more terrible than mad cow....

[redkingjoe]

Yeah really the Bird flu more terrible than mad cow .We all see its dangerous situation in Asia as well as all over the world .This comes from the influenza virus which present in the birds . It spreads in human with the interaction of birds ... http://www.drugdelivery.ca/s33713-s-RELENZA.aspx

hi jack,

a warm welcome to badders.com.....glad that you posted

thank you for the information on Relenza....things are getting worse in asia and europe now....i just heard in the news that one can get infected with EGGS!!!!! eggs' shells are so thin that the virus can easily get inside

do you have any information on the possibility wether the virus can live(in a dormant form) on the feather of the shuttlecock?

take care!

[GordonSim]

Redking Joe, Jack is an opportunist spammer the type of person who fills your inbox with crap!!!

These guys now trawl bulletin boards like this one trying to play on peoples fears about things like bird flu.

I am sure his post will be deleted shortly by the administrators !!!

:rolleyes:

[redkingjoe]

thanks Gordon...i thought jack the ripper had some medical knowledge

well, the bird flu thingy is occupying 15% of TV news' time and 10% of newspaper's "news pages" in HK everyday!!! we had better be vey careful when going to the parks, farms, cooking chicken or eggs...the most horrible thing about the bird flu is: birds are frequent fliers and can easily transmit the virus...unlike SARS, we can't stop this virus through quarantine...neither can we kill all the birds

[myself]

Reading the news, I myself felt very scared over flu/bird flu. Even the USA does the following:

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

WASHINGTON - President Bush outlined a $7.1 billion strategy Tuesday to prepare for a possible worldwide super-flu outbreak, aiming to overhaul the vaccine industry so eventually every American could be inoculated within six months of a pandemic's beginning.

Such a huge change would take years to implement — Bush's goal is 2010 — and his plan drew immediate fire from critics who said it wouldn't provide enough protection in the meantime. States, too, got an unpleasant surprise, ordered to purchase millions of doses of an anti-flu drug with their own money.

The long-awaited strategy also stresses expanded attempts to detect and contain the next super-flu before it reaches the United States, with particular attention to parts of Asia that are influenza incubators — a global focus that flu specialists have insisted the government adopt.

"Early detection is our first line of defense," Bush said in a speech at the National Institutes of Health. He called on other countries to admit when super-flu strains occur within their borders. "No nation can afford to ignore this threat," he said.

At the same time, Bush sought to reassure a public jittery over the spread of bird flu, called H5N1, which has killed at least 62 people in Asia since 2003 and caused the death or destruction of tens of millions of birds.

There is no evidence that a human pandemic, of H5N1 or any other super-strain, is about to start, Bush said repeatedly.

Still, there have been three flu pandemics in the last century and the world is overdue for another. Concern is growing that the bird flu could provide the spark if it one day mutates so that it can spread easily from person to person.

"Our country has been given fair warning of this danger to our homeland, and time to prepare," Bush said.

Topping Bush's strategy:

_$1.2 billion to stockpile enough vaccine against the current H5N1 flu strain to protect 20 million Americans, the estimated number of health workers and other first-responders involved in a pandemic.

_$1 billion for the drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, which can treat and, in some cases, prevent flu infection. Enough to treat 44 million people and prevent infection in 6 million others is headed for the federal stockpile. States were told to buy 31 million treatment courses, but Bush is funding only a quarter of the states' anticipated bill.

_$2.8 billion to speed production of pandemic vaccines — including better-matched strains — by learning to manufacture them in easier-to-handle cell cultures, instead of today's slow method that relies on millions of chicken eggs.

_$251 million for international preparations, including improving early-warning systems to spot human infections with novel flu strains.

_$100 million for state preparations, including determining how to deliver stockpiled medicines directly to patients.

_$56 million to test poultry and wild birds for H5N1 or other novel flu strains entering the U.S. bird population.

_A call for Congress to provide liability protection for makers of a pandemic vaccine, which unlike shots against the regular winter flu would be experimental, largely untested.

Bush's announcement came after his administration was battered by criticism over its lethargic response to Hurricane Katrina.

Public health specialists, briefed on the strategy but awaiting details, called it a good start.

"Clearly this is the No. 1 public health issue on the radar screen," said Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota, who advises the government on infectious disease threats.

But it's not strong enough, said Sen. Edward Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), D-Mass., who helped lead Senate passage of $8 billion in emergency funding for pandemic preparations last month.

"Stockpiles alone aren't enough without the capacity to make use of them," he said, calling for steps to help states, cities and hospitals prepare for a flood of panicked patients.

"There is a gaping hole" in the plan, added Sen. Charles Schumer (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., who said the nation should stockpile enough Tamiflu for half the population, not the quarter that would be covered if the states added their share under Bush's plan.

The states' contribution will be difficult, said Republican Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, chairman of the National Governors Association. "They expect us to pay 75 cents on a dollar for flu medicine — that's going to be a tough pill to swallow," he said through a spokeswoman.

The states' collective tab would reach $510 million, said Kim Elliott, deputy director of the nonpartisan Trust for America's Health. She worried that some wouldn't buy any, and that others wouldn't share their Tamiflu stash if a pandemic struck in a part of the country that ran out.

"It depends on where you live and the state of your state's budget as to whether or not you might receive a treatment drug," she said.

If a pandemic strikes, the Department of Health and Human Services will direct the medical response, and on Wednesday it will unveil long-awaited details. Still to be finalized is a plan from the Homeland Security Department, which will coordinate how the government balances protecting the public with keeping schools, businesses and transportation sectors running.

"People think, "Oh, if I get sick, I'll stay home,'" said Homeland Security spokesman Brian Doyle. "But what happens when schools are closed for four months? Will truck drivers want to deliver food?"

[redkingjoe]

President Bush outlined a $7.1 billion strategy Tuesday to prepare for a possible worldwide super-flu outbreak, aiming to overhaul the vaccine industry so eventually every American could be inoculated within six months of a pandemic's beginning.

myself,
welcome to badders.com...glad that you posted

that's an excellent post http://www.badders.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif...when the US gov't intends to spend that much this time, we get a feel on the seriousness of the global situation!

i still remember the sudden rise in shuttlecock price a few years ago when the goose got slaughtered no matter whether they were sick or not...the shop simply told me that the price might sound a bit expensvie at that particular time but no one knew what's the price next week/month when the avian flu got more serious!!!!

also, i only remember there was a price increase but i didn't notice a price reduction afterwards!!! hope we all have sufficient shuttlecock to use untill the bird's flu is gone!

Ever think about using plastic?

Site support, shall we start a poll like this:
if there were no feather shuttlecock
1 i would use plastic
2 i would rather not play badminton at all
3 not applicable to me, i would stockpile enough shuttlecock for the potential dark age
4 not applicable to me, i have a godown of shuttlecock. i simply wait untill it costs 10 pounds each to sell
5 not applicable to me, i only talk badminton
6 i don't trust Bush

[discostu]

I'm not worried at all by Bird Flu as i'm a man

[myself]

I'm not worried at all by Bird Flu as i'm a man

Hello,
There are lot of cases where human get Bird Flu through contacting birds(in Zoo, Garden, Kitchen eating not well-done chicken). When human get Bird Flu(H5N1), the death rate is 50%!

As bird flu is caused by virus and virus will change rapidly, the WHO expects that bird's flu will develop into "human pass to human" sooner or later. That's the reason the US Federal Government will spend US$7.1 billions on that. The US have 50+ states(ie local Government) which will also spend a lot of $ on flu related things.

No matter what, the feather shuttle's price is going up sooner than you can imagine when the wholesale reorders from the factory in China.

[discostu]

its never much fun when you need to explain a joke to someone without a sense of humour :rolleyes:

But here goes anyway,

I was refering to the term "Bird" as slang for a woman hence why i said i won't get bird flu as i am a man.

Read that through a few times just so you understand ;)

[dancy]

you are right that bird flu is out of control but you could get information that how to control Bid Flu. Seaton knew 95% of viruses like the bird flu enter our bodies from contact between our fingernails and the mucous membranes of our eyes and nose. Your fingernails harbor viruses and all you have to do is get virus droplets on your hands then touch your face and the cycle of virus transmission is complete.
http://www.drugdelivery.ca/bird-flu.aspx , this url give more information about Bird Flu.
And Badminton is for good flu virus because mostly human play badminton, so therfore they touches feathers of bird.

[martynh]

Interesting to read the following on centralsports, a very direct consequence for us badminton players :(

Important information

We wish to inform all our customers that the price of all Yonex feather shuttles have increased by 25% due to a shortage worldwide of the raw material “Goose feathers”.

...
Price rises from ALL feather companies are on the way.

[redkingjoe]

Interesting to read the following on centralsports, a very direct consequence for us badminton players :(

Important information

We wish to inform all our customers that the price of all Yonex feather shuttles have increased by 25% due to a shortage worldwide of the raw material “Goose feathers”.

...
Price rises from ALL feather companies are on the way.


hey bubs,
the last time i talked about birds flu in this forum, i also talked to my coach...he simply told me that he had already ordered sufficient supply for a couple of years...he had a place for storing in china

the coach also told me that it's not merely the price that would be affected, it's the quality of the shuttles that might be affected: due to the shortage of goose feathers, some lower quality feathers had been used(well, they have no choice)

he even quoted an example for a certain brands regarding the lowering of shuttle quality

good luck to non plastic players!

[myself]

Interesting to read the following on centralsports, a very direct consequence for us badminton players :(

Important information

We wish to inform all our customers that the price of all Yonex feather shuttles have increased by 25% due to a shortage worldwide of the raw material “Goose feathers”.

...
Price rises from ALL feather companies are on the way.

Although the price of all the feather shuttles have been increased in my area, we actually don't know whether it's just the beginning of the trend given the fact that bird flu is spreading worldwide!!!! :confused:
I wish I myself had followed red's warning and had bought more when I first read this thread!!!!! May be we need to go plastic in the very near future!!! :mad: