Science vs. Religion, Voodoo style

Jan. 10 is National Voodoo Day in Benin. Voodoo was declared the official religion in the former French colony in the mid-1990s.

Health professionals have noted the voodoo practice of sacrificing chickens -- sometimes by tearing out a bird's throat with their teeth or drinking its blood -- creates a major risk of contamination from bird flu. Two cases of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain fatal to humans were reported there last month.

Street stalls selling roast chicken, a prized local staple, report a big drop in sales.

But it seems such concerns are a breach of faith.

"If you buy a chicken to sacrifice it to your God, he will not let you buy an infected bird," said Dah Aligbonon, a Voodoo priest from Abomey, the former capital of the ancient African kingdom of Dahomey. "We don't fear infection from bird flu ... because there is a divine power that accompanies our sacrifice," he added.

Oooookay, then, Rev. Aligbonon. Let the natural selection process begin.

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