Bird Flu

My wife's family doesn't eat chicken anymore, but properly cooked birds won't kill you. The reason Asia is again dealing with the Bird Flu is because ministries of health refuse to force changes in culture that allow individual families to breed chickens in close proximity to pigs.

It's not as easy as it sounds, nor am I advocating full sale destruction of SE asian culture, but things need to be done. The flu pandemic of 1919 started in SE asia and killed millions of people. If another one starts...

Short explanation. the flu comes in three types (A, B, and C). Typically, birds have an avian version of the flu that cannot make humans sick. However, it can make pigs sick. Pigs can get sick from the human flu also. Are you following me? So, A man and his chicken would (usually) never get each other sick. A man and his pig could get each other sick. A pig and his chicken friend could get each other sick. The problem comes when people raise chickens and pigs together. The human strain mixes with the bird strain and makes a new recombinant strain that can infect humans. Now the chicken's flu becomes our flu. So, the simplest way to stop the Asian flu is to stop raising chickens and pigs together. Asian culture doesn't allow that to stop.

Everyone cross your fingers and hope it doesn't move out of Vietnam.