Before you become overly concerned about “bird flu,” there are a few important facts you need to know about this disease.
“Bird flu” is not the same thing as human pandemic flu. “Bird flu”-H5N1 highly pathogenic Asian avian influenza-is a severe disease of birds. All the people known to have gotten it had close contact with infected birds, mostly in rural villages in Asia. Where there is no close contact with infected birds, there’s no human disease.
The good news: The food supply is protected. The poultry industry and the U.S. government take Asian avian influenza very seriously because it can threaten commercial poultry. It’s spread by migratory birds, so the federal government monitors wild birds in areas where there could be contact with Asian birds.
In addition, security on poultry farms is very tight. Poultry are kept away from wild birds. Strict procedures keep the virus from being tracked into the birds’ living space. Poultry farmers’ number one priority is to protect their flocks.
industry and state governments sponsor extensive testing programs to watch for any signs of Asian avian influenza. Under the National Chicken Council’s program, which nearly all chicken companies follow, each flock is tested. Any poultry flock found to be infected with Asian avian influenza would be destroyed on the farm and would not enter the food supply.
we can also feel confident about your chicken or turkey dinners. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you can’t get “bird flu” from properly handled and cooked food. Just be sure to follow the instructions already printed on each package of fresh meat and poultry sold in the United States. The instructions are the same as they have always been-nothing special is needed. On the remote chance that an infected bird got into the food supply, it wouldn’t affect consumers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends cooking poultry to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This is more than enough to destroy any flu viruses that may be present.
“American consumers don’t have to worry about getting the avian flu virus from eating poultry,” says Dr. Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. “We know that if you properly cook poultry, it’s safe.”
With Bird Flu in the news, people are wondering where it may be safe to avoid this deadly virus. While the answer to this question may be very simple now, in a few weeks or months, it may be a different story.
first outbreak of the deadly strain of bird flu in humans was in Hong Kong in 1997. A major outbreak then occurred in Vietnam and Thailand that resulted in the virus popping up in most of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Recently, a low pathogenic form of H5N1, the dangerous form of bird flu, surfaced in Canada. From this, it may be assumed that southern parts of North America, South America, and other countries distanced from Asia are safe. However, with the track record of this virus, that may not be the case.
if area of greatest risk for Bird Flu currently is Vietnam, where the largest number of infections and death has occurred. Any area in Asia with a large poultry population, from farming or agriculture, is at risk, as consuming infected meat has been a primary cause of becoming infected. On the same note, many countries in Asia, Europe, and recently the Middle East, should be concerned with the possibility of ingested infected poultry. As migratory birds may also carry the disease, it extend over widespread areas as well as from agricultural source
considering the rapid spread of bird flu, the case in Canada should be of concern for residents of North America as well; in less than two years, Asia and Europe were consumed with the disease. Although the case in Canada was a low pathogenic form of H5N1, meaning it is less dangerous, the fact that it made its way to the continent should not be taken lightly and the possibility of the virus spreading south is a very serious threat.
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