Study finds that industrial chicken farms are accelerating the spread of a major foodborne disease

It’s interesting that even the stricter standards for humane treatment in the UK (compared to the US) still isn’t enough to keep the birds from basically living in a petri dish. Poor things, and also yuck.

Related: The infectious disease trap of animal agriculture

Infectious diseases originating from animals (zoonotic diseases) have emerged following deforestation from agriculture. Agriculture can reduce its land use through intensification, i.e., improving resource use efficiency. However, intensive management often confines animals and their wastes, which also fosters disease emergence. Therefore, rising demand for animal-sourced foods creates a “trap” of zoonotic disease risks: extensive land use on one hand or intensive animal management on the other

Wow, who could have guessed.

I’ll never understand why people continue abusing animals whether it’s directly or indirectly as consumers.

They don't have to pay taxes...YET.

That's literally how the Spanish flu spread.

It's campylobacter.

The study also suggests that vast, densely populated chicken flocks may act as ecological "pathogen sponges", absorbing and amplifying bacterial strains from multiple sources. Mathematical modelling showed that once chicken populations reach a critical scale, strains originating in wild birds can become self-sustaining within poultry populations, even when poorly adapted to their new host.

A previous study from the IOI found that 80% of human Campylobacter infections in Oxfordshire are associated with poultry meat, and that many of these infections are resistant to antibiotics.