Avian Flu

New cases of the bird flue were reported in Pakistan and South Korea on Saturday. The discovery is in sync with findings by the United Nations that this season's outbreaks are most likely coming from reared birds instead of migratory breeds. Last year, it is suspected that migratory birds were to blame for the cases as they traveled from Mongolia to China to South Korea.
So far, none of the cases have led to human transfer of the virus. Officials are planning to cull poultry within a two-mile radius of the outbreaks. However, South Korea recently had an outbreak in the same area where poultry was culled earlier this year after a previous outbreak.
I am worried that the method of culling (i.e. killing the birds) may not be sufficient to stop the virus. Sooner or later officials around the world are going to have to come up with a better method of stopping this potentially threatening virus. After the scare in recent years, Americans are more aware of the avaian flu, but how many in the underdeveloped nations are informed about how the virus can pass to humans or what the symptoms are? From my stay in China, I know firsthand that many keep chickens and birds as pets or as a source of food and live with these birds in extremely close proximity. They are also traded at markets and on the street. In today's globalized world there is too much to risk-the flu could go worldwide in no time. Killing them off everytime an outbreak arises is not a safe, definite way of dealing with the virus.