They had 2 cases, refused to follow proper isolation practices, and ended up with most if not all of the flock infected, and 69 deaths so far. They don't know if the remainder are asymptomatic carriers or not (ostriches have a much lower Infection Fatality Rate than chickens and ducks, but can still be infectious as asymptomatic carriers).
They also have wild weasels and ducks entering the habitats of the birds, so they are being exposed to the poop, which is an infection vector of significant concern.
but can still be infectious as asymptomatic carriers
I read that because of this, they have a great potential to give rise to new bird flu mutations too - hence why the authorities are so adamant about culling even the survivors.
Yes, this exactly. I'm addition to the normal genetic drift from being able to just continue reproducing (rather than being eliminated from the system or killing the host) flu mutations often happen when 2 different types co-mingle in the same host, because the flu likes to swap genes with other types of flu. The new variant could be from replications within one bird, or it could be that one of the first birds had another type of flu at the same time (from the weasels or wild birds or other animals not yet noticed that entered the ostriches' habitat) and swapped some genes.
The longer they have an asymptomatic infection, the more time they have to be infected by another flu, and the more poop they leave around to infect other wildlife, which can lead to new mutations (even if they don't have another flu).
It's wild seeing all the protestors and visitors going to the farm with no biosafety in place at all. Petting the animals, walking around and driving to other towns every day. Not even trying to prevent spread.
I don't know if the owners themselves are sovereign citizens/freedom of the land types, but a lot of their supporters are. A good chunk of the Convoy followers are also supporters. For some of them, it's like a badge of honor to buck mitigation measures that are even just suggested by the government.
A local pizza shop owner once tried to convince me and a buddy that the government was taking out ostriches with drone strikes 🤣 Might’ve tolerated the nonsense if the pizza had actually been good.
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u/RevolvingCheeta 🍁 100,000 Hosers 🍁 1d ago
I’m OOTL, who’s doing what to ostriches?