This show is a favourite with Vancouver area fanciers and at least 10 club members made the trip down to Marysville over the weekend. Club members did well at this year’s show. Bob Sutherland, who is a member of both the Snohomish club and the VP & FPA, took Reserve Champion of the Show with a Shaksharli, Ernie Silveri took Champion Sporting with an American Roller, Murray McAllister had best and reserve Modena and Ken Chatwin had reserve Show Type Homer. George Van Vliet worked as one of the judges and everyone enjoyed the SCPF’s hospitality. The Vancouver, Wa. show (formerly the Portland Young Bird Show), was held October 23 at the Red Lion Inn on the Columbia River.

This is an NPA sanctioned all age show sponsored by the North West Pigeon Fanciers and features a number of specialty breed shows. Ken Chatwin and Ernie Silveri attended the show, Ken took Champion Show Type Homer and Ernie had best black American Roller.

The Sand-N-Sagebrush show sponsored by the Columbia Basin Pigeon Club was held October 29-30 in Kennewick, Wa. Ken Chatwin, Ernie Silveri and George Van Vliet made the long trip down and were well rewarded. George had Champion Pouter, Ernie again had best black American Show Roller and Ken cleaned house by sweeping all age and sex classes of Show Type Homers, ending up with Champion Sporting.

As we all know the CPFA Canadian Classic show to have been held at FarmFair International in Edmonton on November 4-5 fell victim to the avian influenza scare and was cancelled. A number of club members will now be flying somewhere in West Jet’s world next year.

The VP & FPA show was expanded to November 18- 20 to accommodate fanciers from Alberta and the Prairies who would have attended the Edmonton show. A complete report of our Winter Show will be provided later. During the show an avian influenza outbreak in a local poultry flock caused the U.S. to close its border to southbound poultry, stranding 60 birds exhibited by U.S. fanciers. Ernie Silveri and Ken Chatwin arranged to house the birds temporarily in their lofts until a special exemption was granted, allowing Ken to take the birds down on November 30.

The Puyallup show sponsored by the Puget Sound Pigeon Club was held November 26-27 but with the U.S. border still closed the 8-9 club members who attended were spectators only. The show, however, draws fanciers from a wide area and it was a good opportunity to renew acquaintances and meet people in the hobby.

Despite the disappointment of the Edmonton show cancellation this was an enjoyable show season, so much so in fact that there was some talk of club members attending the NPA Grand National in San Bernardino on Jan 18-19, 2006.

As it stands, while millions of birds are thought to have been infected world-wide only about 125 people have become infected, about half of whom have died. The fact is human infection can only come from getting down and dirty with a bird, via contact with excrement on feathers. Those who have caught the disease so far have been chicken pluckers, cock-fight organizers, children with pet ducks and others who are around when the feathers fly. Even the World Health Organization has stated that the “species barrier” to acquisition of the virus by humans is “substantial”. That, however, is not the impression being given. You just have to mention the words “avian flu” and the media gets hysterical, bureaucrats start building empires and policy makers get stupid. - from a recent National Post editorial page

The recent “Aussie incident”, in which Australian authorities discovered avian flu antibodies in a shipment of pigeons from Toronto and immediately issued an import ban on birds from Canada, is a good example of how governments can overreact. After meetings between both countries’ health experts it was announced that none of the pigeons were infected with or carrying the avian flu virus and were therefore neither clinically ill or capable of making other birds or humans ill. The import ban was subsequently lifted. Unfortunately the damage had already been done. The hype around this incident resulted in policies which closed the pigeon and poultry sections in two of Canada’s largest annual agricultural exhibitions, FarmFair International in Edmonton and The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. As pigeon fanciers our only defence against this kind of speculation that could adversely effect our hobby, is an understanding of the real facts. What follows is basic information on influenza and specifics on the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.

Viruses and Influenza

A virus particle is a microscopic packet that contains genetic material wrapped in a layer of protein. Unlike bacteria, viruses cannot reproduce on their own - they have to invade host cells. This process destroys cells and makes the host animal (or person) sick. Viruses usually enter the host animal through their mouth, mucous membranes or breaks in the skin. Then they infect specific cells. The influenza virus attacks cells in the respiratory system causing fevers, sore throat and congestion and sometimes muscle cells causing aches. As the virus reproduces, it destroys the host cells releasing copies of the virus to attack other cells.

There are three types of influenza virus - types A, B and C. Multiple subtypes exist within those types and multiple strains within each subtype. Influenza A subtypes are named for their proteins called hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), that's why they have names like:

- H1N1 : The “Spanish” flu that killed 50 million people in 1918-1919. - H2N2 : The “Asian” flu pandemic in 1957-1958 - H3N2 : The “Hong Kong” flu pandemic in 1968

Many virus strains, including influenza, are unstable and can mutate through small changes that occur during reproduction (antigenic drift) or major changes that occur when two different types of influenza meet and swap DNA creating a whole new strain (antigenic shift). These new strains of viruses can be especially dangerous. Scientists believe the two most recent flu pandemics occurred after human strains of influenza acquired genes from an avian flu virus.

Avian Influenza H5N1

When scientists talk about avian flu, they are referring to varieties that exist mostly or entirely in birds - not people. Most of the time birds can’t transmit the flu directly to people. They first infect other animals, often pigs, that can contact both human and avian flu strains. When the two strains come in contact with each other they create a new strain that can infect humans.

In 1997 however, health officials in Hong Kong reported a virulent strain of avian flu that appeared to move directly from birds to people rather than through a second species. The virus caused typical flu symptoms and sometimes pneumonia and acute respiratory distress. Tests confirmed this strain, influenza A H5N1, was completely new to humans. The Hong Kong government acted quickly and in three days destroyed 1.5 million birds, the country’s entire poultry population. Even so, 18 people were infected by the virus and 6 of them died.

The H5N1 influenza strain then seemed to lay dormant until 2003 when both infected birds and people were reported in Vietnam and Thailand and in 2004 in Cambodia and Indonesia. Although over 100 million birds have been killed in these countries, both as a result of the disease or in an effort to prevent it spreading, outbreaks continue to occur. In October 2005, the disease appeared in poultry flocks in Eastern Europe, likely spread by migrating birds.

Right now, avian flu H5N1 is most threatening to birds, especially in Asia. The biggest threat to human health and potential for the spread of the disease is also in Asia , where many rural families have at least a few chickens that typically roam free, including through their owners’ habitations. Health officials from Canada, the U. S. and Europe are currently assisting Asian countries in managing the avian flu. They are also advising their own countries’ governments on policies and plans to respond at home to what some are saying is the inevitable global flu pandemic. We will have to wait and see how those policies and plans effect our hobby. In the meantime enjoy what is left of this year’s show season, it may be a while before we have another one.