I’m just watching the news and they’re rattling on about bloody bird flu again. I am so sick of how the whole thing is being blown out of proportion. And the British public are still getting hysterical about it!
I belong to a couple of avian discussion forums, and over the last few months I’ve read some of the most horrific accounts of public ignorance you could imagine. Parrot-keepers all over the country have been subject to threats, abuse, and nasty “packages” left on their doorsteps. Neighbours have demanded they have their birds put to sleep, lest they infect all the local residents. Our birds don’t even have the damn virus!! Nor are they very likely to have it in the future, as parrots don’t tend to socialise with wild birds! Still, we live in fear of the ignorant vigilantes, having to keep our birds out of sight. It’s disgusting.
Even P doesn’t get any relief from it at work. He regularly gets calls from patients with the sniffles, panicking that they have somehow caught bird flu. It’s winter for goodness sakes! It’s just a bloody cold!
If anyone reading this is concerned about bird flu, please don’t concern yourself with scare-mongering journalists or over-exaggerated news reports. And certainly don’t assume what your friends and neighbours say is accurate – they’ve probably just seen those same reports. There are plenty of places to find out the cold, hard facts about bird flu and the potential risk to humans. Have a read of this report from the Department of Health for a start.
Don’t be a sheep and follow popular misconception. Educate yourselves.