Bird flu poses no food safety risks. This assurance was announced by the Food Standards Agency on its website following the recent case of bird flu in the Suffolk/Norfolk areas.
Poultry products such as meat and eggs are safe for consumption as long as they have been properly cooked. The Agency reiterated the importance of thoroughly cooking poultry meat and eggs, since the H5 virus is killed with high heat. The virus is not transmitted by eating food, but through close contact with an infected bird. The Agency also advised that people should follow normal food hygiene guidelines when handling raw poultry meat.
For more updates on the recent case, visit the Department of Environment, Food, and Agriculture (DEFRA) website.
News from Medical News Today
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The strain of bird flu that has infected people in Asia and the Middle East recently is called H5N1. H5N1 is one of the
strains that are dangerous to birds.
The people who became infected with the H5N1 strain of avian flu caught it directly from birds. H5N1 cannot be spread from
person to person. Experts are concerned that the H5N1 strain of bird flu could mutate (change) into a new form that can
spread from person to person. This has happened in past flu outbreaks and has caused what is known as a pandemic. The
symptoms of bird flu in people tend to be similar to the typical flu: fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches. But this flu
can also lead to eye infections, pneumonia, and severe coughing and breathing problems. Doctors hope that certain antiviral
medications will help keep the flu from spreading if it becomes contagious to humans. These medications can’t cure bird flu,
but they can make the symptoms less severe.