July 24, 2006

Poultry scientists call it quits in New Zealand
 

Scientists working in New Zealand say funding problems, covert bullying and a lack of co-operation from the poultry industry are obstructing research that may prevent chicken diseases.

Researchers on antibiotic resistance in chicken and campylobacter infection, which causes stomach cramps and diarrhoea, have given up in frustration.

Scientists at Otago University, one of the countries' major universities, have called for a ban on the sale of fresh chicken to curb the widespread campylobacter epidemic, which they said is found in up to 90 percent of the country's chicken.

The Poultry Industry Association has denounced the action as an unsubstantiated accusation.

Campylobacter expert John Klena, who was on a Health Ministry campylobacter working group until he left New Zealand in 2002, says the industry practises "covert bullying". Klena said the poultry industry impeded his research by blocking access to data, farms and strains of disease.

Greg Cook a Otago University microbiologist who found antibiotic resistant bacteria in chicken could be passed to humans, has abandoned the work after being unable to get funding.

Mike Brooks, of the Poultry Industry Association, disputed these claims, saying the association worked with the government and scientists to reduce campylobacter. He further added that the industry had forked out money for research into the disease.

A spokesman for the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) said the poultry industry and NZFSA are working hard and committing significant resources to the problems, but there were no easy solutions.