Stonewalling by the UKHSA on the H5N1 influenza case
Triple standards
Those who followed our tortuous investigations of the 5.5. Million doses of Avian Influenza H5N8 vaccine will recall the recent human case reported in England and our threat assessment in the Avian influenza trilogy:
As fans of Ronald Reagan's aphorism, “Trust but verify,” we wrote to the UKHSA asking for confirmation of the case. As you recall, there does not appear to be a clear case definition, and we were interested in the laboratory tests carried out, as test results do not identify individuals.
Here is the answer:
You can view the correspondence dated 19 February here.
So, ladies and gentlemen, we cannot verify. Should we trust?
This is a strange refusal, as the UKHSA’s double standards are evident. In our post linked above, we mentioned our reader’s notification of this paper by Isabel Oliver et al. reporting a case in a flock keeper in early 2022. The case report extensively reports the information we were after in our FOIA request. Oliver’s affiliation is given as UKHSA.
In addition, we have this very detailed investigation report by the very same UKHSA:
“1. Through enhanced surveillance of poultry workers, there have been asymptomatic detections of influenza A(H5N1) in 2 individuals with exposure to infected farmed birds at a single site. As of 23 May 2023, 85 individuals from 5 infected farming premises have been tested through this surveillance programme.”
So which is it? When we, as members of the public, request the information, it’s a no-go, but when UKHSA can report similar information in a publication or a HMG website, it’s OK?
Two old geezers - who consider Parliamentary oversight of the UKHSA, its public health ethos and contracts is urgently needed - wrote this post.
Nah, we have to trust the UKHSA! They used a PCR Test! That's cutting-edge science, that is, innit like!
Frankly, I think we should assume that UKHSA is also a government propaganda arm and will disseminate info when their betters tell them to, not when two old geezers ask. Can't have the public get their hands on confidential, esoteric knowledge, can e!
At the bottom of my street is a yellow notice attached to a lamppost alerting the public to a confirmed case of avian flu, and directions to anyone keeping birds in the area.
Nothing banning putting up bird feeders for wild birds, which seems strange if there really is a threat to health from feathery things.
I've resisted the temptation (so far) to deface it with eyeliner pencil but following the government requirement for everyone to register their chickens it does smell rather 'off'.
It's all going a bit Ferguson, by the looks of it. I've kept a small flock of chickens in the past and sometimes you would find a dead one that had seemed OK previously. It didn't lead to all the others dropping dead. Authorities will not be open to reasoning or negotiation to breed from naturally immune birds so we are probably in for a mass cull. They never learn (or they just rejoice at the thought of all the vaccines they can flog on the back of this genocide).