Flu Farms?
Decreasing Factory Farming Could Help Avert the Next Epidemic
SOURCE: AP/Alexandre Meneghini
Controlling infections once they reach the human population is crucial, but the origin of many pathogens may lie in factory farming operations, where potent diseases develop.
Print
As the number of confirmed cases of swine flu around the globe increases, we grow closer and closer to having a pandemic on our hands. In preparation against that possibility, governments are emphasizing prevention of further human-to-human transmission and treatment for those who are ill. Talk about greater distribution of filter masks, vaccine production, and limitations on international travel abounds. Surprisingly, however, there is very little discussion about how swine flu got started in the first place.
The primary reservoir for influenza viruses is aquatic birds, but humans are not readily directly infected by the strains from those animals.[1] Pigs, however, are highly susceptible to both avian and human influenza A viruses. They are commonly referred to as “mixing vessels” in which avian and human viruses commingle. In pigs, viruses swap genes, and new influenza strains emerge with the potential to infect humans. Pigs may have been the intermediate hosts responsible for the birth of the last two flu pandemics in 1957 and 1968 and the current swine influenza A, called H1N1, is a triple hybrid avian/pig/human virus.[2]
In order to better avert the threat of epidemics like the one currently spreading around the globe, public health efforts must address the conditions that allow pigs to become breeding grounds for infectious disease. More focus needs to be placed on preventing pathogens from getting into the human population in the first place, and that means starting at the farm. The source of the current epidemic has not yet been identified, but the first confirmed case of swine flu occurred in La Gloria, Mexico, a town surrounded by industrial pig farms, partly owned by Smithfields Foods.[3] We should note of course that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have made it clear that consumers cannot get swine flu from eating pork or pork products. But even if these particular farms are not confirmed as the primary source, based on research into the previous outbreaks of swine flu, it makes sense to consider factory farms as very likely potential sites for the development of these pathogens.
For centuries, the evolution of the flu virus has remained relatively stable. However, in recent years the influenza virus has undergone an “evolutionary surge,” with new variants emerging rapidly. But this is not limited to influenza. According to the World Health Organization, we are seeing more new infectious diseases and epidemics than ever before, and they are appearing at an alarming rate.[4] What could be causing such a surge in new infections? Increased human travel is certainly a factor, but perhaps the most significant variable is the change in animal agricultural practices that have occurred in the last few decades.
Global demand for meat has increased substantially in recent years. In the U.S. alone, approximately 1 million land animals are slaughtered for food every hour.[5] By 2020, world meat production is expected to double.[6] As a result of the rise in animal product demand, traditional farming practices have been mostly replaced in developed countries by immense intensive animal operations, and developing countries are rapidly catching up.
Increasingly, thousands of animals are confined in these operations, often crowded into sheds. The percentage of operations in North America with 5,000 or more animals expanded from 18 percent in 1993 to 53 percent in 2002.[7] The crowding leads to stressful and profoundly unhygienic conditions. Animals continuously inhale and recirculate aerosolized fecal matter, methane, and ammonia. The wastes and fumes emanating from these intensive operations are so concentrated that nearby human communities commonly have substantial increases in respiratory illnesses such as asthma.[8] The combination of reduced immunity due to prolonged stress in the pigs and the high-density confinement render these operations perfect breeding grounds for new pathogens. Under these conditions, new strains of swine flu are rapidly generated and transmitted from one pig to another by the respiratory route.
In 1988, 2,400 pigs in a North Carolina operation were sickened by a strain of swine flu not seen before.[9] Since that time numerous new flu viruses have emerged and have swept across pig operations throughout North America. WHO and other organizations cite intensive pig farming and other animal factory operations as a significant contributing factor to zoonotic pathogens.[10] Because of the high infectious disease rates in these operations, farm animals are given a constant influx of antibiotics; half of all U.S. antibiotics are given to farm animals.[11] This inundation of medicine helps select for drug-resistant bacteria, which in turn could be transmitted to humans. In addition, vaccination for farm animals is now common. It is routine to vaccinate pigs against swine flu, but rather then ameliorating the problem, vaccinations may actually exacerbate the problem by selecting for new, vaccine-resistant viruses.[12] Vaccinating farm animals may not be an effective preventive measure.
Our high demand for animal products has trapped us in a never-ending cycle. To meet the demand economically, animals are placed into high-density confinement, which sickens them; they are given antibiotics and vaccines to prevent this, which in turn produces more virulent or drug-resistant pathogens. So how do we stop this?
The answer, according to many governments, is to control the spread of infection once it spreads to the human population with physical barriers, vaccination, and medication. This is certainly necessary, but it is not the whole solution. Because new influenza strains are popping up continuously, it is difficult to anticipate the next serious strain that warrants a vaccine. There can be a long lag time between an outbreak and the availability of an appropriate vaccine. Vaccines also might not confer total protection to all citizens, and although generally safe, might, on rare occasions, have unintended consequences, as was the case with the swine flu outbreak at Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976, in which the influenza vaccine was associated with increased cases of Guillain-Barré disease, a neurological illness of acute paralysis.[13] Moreover, antivirals and antibiotics are becoming ineffective because of the development of new, resistant strains. The current swine flu is resistant to two out of four potential antiviral medicines.[14]
The high-density intensive animal operations need to go. Not only are they hotbeds for pathogens, but they are also environmentally unsustainable and cruel to the animals involved. The American Public Health Association, recognizing the adverse public health consequences of these intensive farms, has called for a moratorium.[15] That’s a great step in the right direction, but it is not enough. To reduce the supply, the demand for animal products must decrease.
With one exception thus far, the current swine flu cases outside of Mexico appear to be relatively mild in severity and the outbreaks may fizzle out. Even if it does, however, genes between different flu strains are being swapped and re-assorted in pig farms across the world. The next major pandemic is just a matter of time. If we learn anything from the current outbreaks, it is that we can’t afford to wait for the next one. We need to address the root of the problem: the intensive farm animal operations and our own appetites.
Aysha Akhtar MD, MPH is a fellow for the Oxford Center for Animal Ethics and a neurologist and public health specialist at the Food and Drug Administration.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not represent the official position of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the U.S. government.
Notes
[1] Webby RJ, Rossow K, Erickson G, Sims Y, Webster R, “Multiple lineages of antigenically and genetically diverse influenza A virus co-circulate in the United States swine population,” Virus Research (2004) 103: 67-73.
[2] Wuetrich B., “Chasing the fickle swine flu,” Science (2003) 299:1502-1505.
[3] The Washington Post, “Little boy at the center of a viral storm,” April 29, 2009. Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042804041.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2009042900988
[4] The World Health Report 2007, “A safer future: Global public health security in the 21st century” (2007). Available at: www.who.int/entity/whr/2007/whr07_en.pdf
[5] USDA, “Livestock slaughter 2003 summary.” Available at: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/LiveSlauSu//2000s/2004/LiveSlauSu-05-04-2004.txt; USDA, “Poultry slaughter 2003 annual summary,” (2004). Available at: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/PoulSlauSu//2000s/2004/PoulSlauSu-03-08-2004.txt.
[6] Pearson J, Salman MD, BenJabara K, et al. “Global risks of infectious animal diseases,” Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, Issue Paper No. 28. (2005).
[7] Wuetrich, “Chasing the fickle swine flu.”
[8] Mirabelli MC, Wing S, Marshall SW, Wilcosky TC, “Asthma symptoms among adolescents who attend public schools that are located near confined swine feeding operations,” Pediatrics (2006) 118:e66 –75; Wing S, Wolf S., “Intensive livestock operations, health and quality of life among Eastern North Carolina residents,” Environ Health Perspect. (2000) 108:233–8; Merchant JA, Naleway AL, Svendsen ER, et al., “Asthma and farm exposures in a cohort of rural Iowa children,” Environ Health Perspect. (2005) 113:350–6.
[9] Wuetrich, “Chasing the fickle swine flu.”
[10] Wuetrich, “Chasing the fickle swine flu”; Washington Post, “Little boy at the center of a viral storm”; Pearson J, Salman MD, BenJabara K, et al., “Global risks of infectious animal diseases.”
[11] “Antimicrobial resistance: issues and options,” In: Harrison PF, Lederberg J, eds., “Forum on emerging infections,” Institute of Medicine, (Washington DC: National Academy Press, 1998); “Putting meat on the table: industrial farm animal production in America,” The Pew Charitable Trusts and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a report of the Pew Commission on industrial farm animal production (2008).
[12] Wuetrich, “Chasing the fickle swine flu.”
[13] Sencer DJ, Millar JD, “Reflections on the 1976 swine flu vaccination program,” Emerging Infectious Diseases (2006) 12: 29-33.
[14] Associated Press, “Global race is to contain swine flu outbreak,” April 27, 2009. Available at: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30398682/this strain of A/H1N1 swine flu
[15] American Public Health Association, “Precautionary moratorium on new concentrated animal feed operations,” APHA policy statement number 20037 (2003). Available at: www.apha.org/advocacy/policy/policysearch/default.htm?id_1243
Comments on this article
What a perceptive article. I think it will take a few of these episodes before we are able to think clearly about this matter and reduce the consumption of meat and factory farming. Unfortunately by then some sort of super-epidemic may make this a moot point and meat consumption will decrease in proportion to the number of lives lost. Pity we always have to wait until its either too late or until so much damage is done to act. This is reminiscent of the global warming and response scenario/tragedy playing out before our eyes. So many saw so clearly and yet we still move so haltingly. Our generation will be judged in posterity for our temerity.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:24 pmAn article that finally explains what swine flu is and where it comes from! Amidst all the media reports about travel restrictions and face masks, it seems they have neglected to provide this kind of necessary perspective on how our actions create these strains of super viruses.
Very informative.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:14 pmI had no idea of the relationship(s) between my diet and the spread of infectious diseases. I have sat on the fence about vegetarianism for a while (maybe too long) but seeing the impact my appetite for meat is having on the environment and human health has finally prodded me into giving up meat. I hope others reach the same conclusion I did and go veg.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:27 pmAt last, a cogent explanation as to why intensive animal production leads to unintended consequences in terms of intensifying evolutionary pressures for pathogenic organisms to proliferate, mutate, and then ‘jump’ species. And the hormones and supplements given to feed lot animals to keep down the stress of such an unnatural environment simply contribute to the overall hotbed of pathogenic organism development. We are creating a monster in more ways than we may imagine! It’s time to rethink a lot of our practices and try to raise all our food, whether animal or vegetable, in a way that is humane, stress-free, and which is as little as possible dependent upon chemical and hormonal intervention. Our health depends upon it!
April 29th, 2009 at 7:05 pmAs mentioned by some Doctors, this SIV virus (Swine Flu) is not serious as SARS, I hope all people can recover soon.
April 29th, 2009 at 10:33 pmnice article..a different point than what everyone else is saying. But going veg might be a little extreme for some people (but then again, so is getting these viruses)
April 30th, 2009 at 9:19 amThis is a great article on a very topical subject but if youo examine factory and industrial farming more closely there are other very serious reasons to be concerned. In order to increase output and decrease costs, industrial farming has made us almost totally dependent on mono-culture crop species that make us incredibly vulnerable to species specific blights. In other words, the corn we grow around the world in incredibly similar genetically and one super bug could devastate global production. Genetically modified crops do address this somewhat but what we gain in that process, we lose overall in terms of systemic diversity which by itself would protect us against ourselves. Unchecked and abusive factory farming is just another example of how corporate profits seem to be the only measure of societal success and in that we are all to blame because who wants their 401K statement to show losses when we all probably own Monsanto? If we really want to address these issues in a serious and thoughtful manner, the above article is a fantastic step in the right direction because it outlines very clearly the consequences of actions done on our behalf (cheaper pork prices) while we only pay attention when there is any sort of systemic failure. Three cheers to Dr. Aktar.
April 30th, 2009 at 10:23 amA friend of mine just forwarded me the link to this article and after reading it all I can say is “here we go again”. I hate to sound like a whiner or unengaged but when I read something like this it gets me really mad. We elect public officials to because they promise us that they will act in our best interest and look at potential dangers and act accordingly. It seems obvious after reading this that this is something that people within the Agriculture Department should be amply aware of and must be relaying to our members of congress. Or, and this is more probably the case, they are not or if they are, the lobbying arms of the companies involved are making sure that the message is smoothed out. I agree with Scott wrote above that corporate profits seem to be the only way we have to measure our progress as a society. Stocks up? Great, let’s call it a day. For god’s sake, when will our members in Congress act before its too late? You know, in some ways if this flu dies out before making some sort of dramatic impact on the American psyche, it will almost be a shame because then we wont see any reason to react with a long term plan. It took the North Pole to melt before we got any action there and that is not even happening fast enough. I plan to write to my member of congress and make sure at least I am heard.
April 30th, 2009 at 10:43 amUnder the Bush administration we ignored scientists with terrible effects on the environment that will only get worse. Will the Obama administration ignore Dr. Akhtar, risking repeated pandemics?
April 30th, 2009 at 11:04 amThank you for this very informative article. The details here describing the origin of these viruses should make headline news. It’s appalling to learn that the conditions of factory farms are a breeding ground of infectious diseases. These factory farm conditions are sickening. Let’s put a stop to the root of the problem.
April 30th, 2009 at 1:00 pmThank you for the thoughtful article.
It is amazing that anyone could have ever thought that such huge numbers of animals could be confined in such deplorable conditions without consequences eventually arising for their human tormentors. This could only have arisen by denying that these are living, breathing animals and not mere machines.
The suffering of the animals on these “flu farms” should be enough to shut them down but if our collective sense of compassion is so utterly defiicient that this is not enough to prompt action, there is also a large element of self-interest that should likewise bring us to the same conclusion.
Moral problems are only difficult when there is a conflict of genuine interests…in this case, everyone’s interest lies in ending animal agriculture.
April 30th, 2009 at 1:32 pmWhat a great example of taking a few facts and weaving them into a narrative that fits so well into the postmodern urban zeitgeist. The only problem is that the facts are more like factoids and the narrative is false. The author mentions the swine flu outbreaks in 1957 and 1968. The horrible 1918 pandemic also had swine origin. Where were the factory farms then?
Anyone who has experience with pigs, and a sense of history about farming, knows that one of the most striking features of modern pig farms, large and intense, is how clean the animals are. Air (inside) is kept fresh with computer controlled ventilation. Food and water are ad lib. If anything, these animals are sensory deprived, which admittedly is part of an animal welfare critique, but they are not stressed.
There is not one credible study, including the ones sited, that directly ties increased respiratory disease to living near pig farms. No lawyer worth two cents would allow that kind of fact to go unlitigated.
The increase in sub-therapeutic antibiotic use began in the 60’s and was for growth promotion. This is not a defense of the practice, but tying it to the flu is disingenuous.
The truth is that confined animal farming is one of our best defenses against the spread of infectious disease. New viruses are far more likely to mix and spread where multiple species – pigs, poultry, humans, wild birds, other wildlife – come in close and continuous contact. This is why Asia has been the epicenter of the last few outbreaks. Open air butcher shops and live animals at consumer markets are also part of the mix. And in Africa, where the majority of recent new viral appearances have occurred, factory farming is nearly non-existent. Africans are encroaching on and living nearer and among wild animals, and they are eating them in record amounts.
If, for whatever reason, you believe that raising animals for food is immoral, then you can come up with all kinds of stories that sound rational to those lacking first hand experience with the issue. They are extremely effective rhetoric. That doesn’t make them true.
May 2nd, 2009 at 1:11 pmBrian sounds very much like a lawyer. The ones who have no regard for animals, but only for human life.
Thank you for this great article and bringing this topic to life. Many of us have seen the horrendous abuse that exists on typical farms. It takes a cold hearted and cold blooded person to kill. Desensitization must occur to kill and raise innocent beings as lifestock.
This is a separate issues from the cleanliness issues of course…but don’t worry thinking about the life of a pig and how a being meant to live outdoors with nose in the grass finding bugs, roots and nestled up to close companions would feel.
It is all about humanity….humanity…humanity…humanity…men who think the world is at their disposal….
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:00 amThank you so very much for this information. I am grateful for people like you.
I hate that we are so cruel to animals, and we sicken everyone – even those who try to stop animal cruelty and improve their own health. Many people feel they won’t survive on this planet without having to kill and consume animals. Most people refuse to watch the videos or look at the images, and turn their heads as though ignorance is bliss, not irresponsible.
Egotism, undying egotism. I wonder if humans will ever stop assuming they have the right to do whatever they want. It makes me feel quite bitter.
May 6th, 2009 at 3:46 amWell done. I think this is a compelling article which connects the atrocious conditions of factory farms to something relevant in the general public consciousness.
I see why #3 (P. E. Bootcheen) reached the conclusion that we should all switch to vegetarian diets, but to me this is no kind of answer to the problem. Moderate consumption of meat and animal products must be able to co-exist with humane, ecologically-sustainable farming of animals for human consumption.
What’s most fault here are badly or unregulated farms that just are raising too many animals per day for too small a return per head. It’s not the total answer of course, but simply putting in place much more limiting restrictions on the number of animals per farm, the number of square metres allocated to each animal, etc, would help a lot. Of course it would drive up the price of meat and animal products, but that is a good thing. It would help lower the consumption of meat and animal products.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:29 amSpot the odd man out: cat, dog, coyote, fox, human, wolf.
June 1st, 2009 at 3:45 amFive of the six are members of the family carnivora. The human is a member of the family hominidae, along with chimpanzees, gorillas and orangatangs.
i want to let it be known that this brian disagrees with the above brian. there is no physioloigical need to feast on the carcasses of dead pigs, or any other animals. We devote massive amounts of aerable land to raise, corn, oats, wheat, alfalfa , and soy so we can feed them to animals, then kill them and eat them, so we can then afford record amounts of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. everything necessary for humans to function and thrive can be fouond in fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetables. i have been on factory farms. the stench was unbearable far away. this cloud of methane, and other bodily wastes, i am to believe, has no deleterious effects on the human respiratory system(let alone the air-global warming folks take note). factory farming is irresponsible, poor stewardship, hazardous at best, and cruel.
June 4th, 2009 at 11:25 am