11/10/2005

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Chow Line: Holiday dinner safe from bird flu (for 11/20/05)

Writer:

Martha Filipic
filipic.3@osu.edu
614-292-9833

Source:

Mo Saif, Food Animal Health Research Program

Can a person catch "bird flu" from eating poultry?

Bird flu might be a topic around the Thanksgiving table, but you don't have to worry about catching it from your dinner plate. The cause for concern, Asian bird flu, has not been seen in the United States yet, and it isn't a food-borne disease anyway.

Asian bird flu is getting a lot of press these days. And for good reason: It's a highly pathogenic form of avian influenza and can be lethal for both birds and the few people -- about 125 so far -- that it has been known to infect.

Still, as seriously as health experts take the bird flu, none think of it as a food-borne illness. It's a group of flu viruses that infect birds. In fact, these viruses occur naturally in wild birds, which carry the bugs in their intestines but usually don't get sick from them. The current concern relates to the virus' spread to domesticated poultry flocks -- chicken, turkey and duck -- mainly in Asia but spreading into Eastern Europe and beyond.

Humans who are at risk have direct contact with affected poultry. Infected birds shed the virus through their feces, and that's mainly how the virus spreads. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, exposure is considered most likely during slaughter, defeathering, butchering, and preparation of poultry for cooking. It's contact with live or recently slaughtered birds that puts people at risk.

It's worth noting that in 2003, the avian flu virus was found in some frozen duck meat shipped from China to Japan. However, such an occurrence is highly unusual, and heat destroys the virus, anyway. So, experts say usual, proper preparation and cooking -- which is always recommended to protect against harmful bacteria -- also protect against the flu virus. Remember:

• Wash well. Carefully wash your hands before and after handling poultry or other raw meat. Also, wash with hot, soapy water any cutting boards, utensils and surfaces that have come into contact with raw meat and poultry.
• Cook thoroughly. For poultry, cook until the juices run clear and it reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

World health experts are keeping watch for signs that the bird flu virus mutates, allowing easy spread from human to human -- that's when avian flu could reach pandemic proportions. But even then, properly cooked poultry would be safe to eat.

Chow Line is a service of Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Send questions to Chow Line, c/o Martha Filipic, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH 43210-1044, or filipic.3@osu.edu.

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Editor: This column was reviewed by Mo Saif, professor of food animal health with Ohio State's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster.