Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently offered an idea on how to end the bird flu epidemic that is decimating poultry flocks here in the U.S. and around the world: allow it to spread unabated among flocks so only the strong, naturally immune birds survive.
“You should let the disease go through them [flocks] and identify the birds that survive, which are the birds that probably have a genetic inclination for immunity,” he told Fox News host Sean Hannity over lunch at a Florida Steak and Shake.
Repopulating the flocks with those birds might prevent recurrences of the disease. “We’ve killed 166 million chickens – that’s why we have an egg crisis,” he said. "Most of our scientists are against culling the flocks."
Kennedy said he was skeptical of both culling and innoculation programs, the latter of which could cause more harm than good, and he added there hasn’t been enough research or attempts at using therapeutic drugs.
As secretary of the Health and Human Services Dept., Kennedy oversees FDA, Centers for Disease Control and several other agencies; but not the Agriculture Dept. which would have authority over poultry issues. But he indicated he’s in alignment with current thinking of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and the Trump Administration on this issue.
Poultry experts disagree. “No, not for this disease. This is crazy,” Rocio Crespo, a poultry veterinarian at the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, told Scientific American.
This variant of highly pathogenic avian influenza is so deadly it kills 90-100% of chickens in three or four days, Matt Koci, an immunologist and virologist at North Carolina State’s poultry science department told Scientific American. As a result, the chickens never develop the antibodies that would beat back the flu and give them the ability to survive a second encounter with the virus.
Farmers currently must cull infected flocks to contain the disease before it spreads. Poultry-raisers are financially compensated for the culled birds by USDA.
Another problem with Kennedy’s strategy would be the inability of American farmers to sell chicken products internationally because many countries already ban poultry from infected areas or would institute bans if the American poultry flock were allowed to allow the disease to spread further. And imagine the domestic price for eggs.
The Hannity interview began with a long discussion about the measles outbreak and Kennedy’s aversion to vaccines. Bird flu came up after the 6:00 minute mark; see it yourself here.
