China has invested in effective systems for disease surveillance, prevention and response since it came under criticism for its secretive response in fighting severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS in 2003, World Health Organization Director-General Dr. China has invested in effective systems for disease surveillance, prevention and response since it came under criticism for its secretive response in fighting severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS in 2003, World Health Organization...

It is time we looked at improving our underdeveloped ruminant livestock sector to supplement our traditional sources of animal protein production from poultry and pigs. WITH the rising cost of imported animal feed ingredients such as maize and barley, the cost of production (90 per cent of which consists of feed costs) of poultry and pigs has shot up by about 50 per cent. Ruminant livestock such as cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats, unlike poultry and pigs, depend almost entirely on...

The poultry industry also has taken steps to keep the birds from infecting each other with avian influenza and other diseases. The line includes an heirloom breed called American bronze, which is on the small side and resembles the wild turkeys that the Indians shared with the Pilgrims. Diestel recently launched an organic line, meaning that the feed is from farms free of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. But they fetch a high price per pound from people who like the idea of raising...

WHO said the virus, which passes from birds to humans, had killed 200 of the 350 people confirmed as infected worldwide. WHO avian flu expert David Nabarro told journalists in Geneva it was still feared that the H5N1 strain, the most dangerous ever recorded, could be the virus that mutates and causes the next human influenza pandemic by passing from human to human. WHO was co-ordinating preparations and overseeing moves to speed up vaccine production globally but there was another two to...

Hewitt is regional sales manager for Volk Enterprises, which supplies packaging materials to the meat and poultry industries. His house, for example, has 90 acres of vacant land behind it. As adults, they've lived in the same north Georgia area for years. Both Hewitt and Tart campaigned that they would fight the extension of sewer service into the city and keep the small town character. Both defeated incumbents in the town that has been incorporated for just one year. He was elected by the...