11 replies to this topic

[ebula]

What is 'Bird Flu?
A Wikipedia defination speaks about what is bird flu?

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Avian influenza (also known as bird flu) is a type of influenza virulent in birds. It was first identified in Italy in the early 1900s and is now known to exist worldwide.

Treatment
The only medicine developed Oseltamivir, used for avian influenza treatment are manufactured by Cipla, Ranbaxy and Hetero Drugs. These companies are underprepared for a massive outbreak in humans.

Global Epidemic
After China, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia now it has reached India. Although no human cases found, it is spreading at an alarming rate across the nation. According to WHO case report:

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Bird flu has been detected in more than 30 countries and territories since 2003 and 170 people are known to have been infected by the virus, of which 92 died.

Countries like India is totally underprepared for a possible outbreak. Only in Mumbai, the consumption of: 1,00,000 chicken a day in 7,000 eateries, 3,000 illegal shops, 620 licensed stores; and only 210 municipal inspectors to ensure hygiene. Although, on receiving reports of infection in poultry farm, Indian government has started culling of chickens on massive scale, still we can't trust poultry items from countries which lack the seriousness of the event, especially African nations. Hope we should not import poultry items from any of the third world countries or start our own farm, if we cant resist the temptation of chicken.

Notice from KuBi:

Edited topic title to reduce page distortion.

[Sprnknwn]

Any flu virus that a chicken might have, it should dissapear with the heat of cooking. So, unless you eat chicken alive and raw, I don´t think there is any problem. The cases of dead humans did not eat those birds, they were in contact with them, specially in farms, etc.

I think the world is getting a bit paranoid with this. There is a possible outbreak, but it´s also possible that not much happen. At least I´m not on panic.

[brandice]

Right. Just make sure you cook all poultry to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F and that should kill everything.

(I watch way too much "Good Eats" with Alton Brown. lol)

[rvalkass]

There seems to have been a mass panic concerning people eating chicken and also how the various people infected got it. As long as the chicken is cooked at over 70 degrees Celcius it will kill the bacteria, like Salmonella and all the other bugs. All of the people infected so far have either been in contact with infected birds for prolonged periods of time or have been in contact with the carcases of dead birds. The worry is if bird flu mutates into a form that cna be passed between humans as easily as influenza or the common cold, but luckily this hasn't happened yet.

[ebula]

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Right. Just make sure you cook all poultry to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F and that should kill everything. (I watch way too much "Good Eats" with Alton Brown. lol)

My friend brandice, we are not talking about eating chicken after roasting. In case of boiled egg, the temperature never exceeds 100 degrees. The chances of infection is still high if you touch an infected raw egg or unprocessed chicken pieces (especially while cooking). The main concern is that how to ascertain whether the poultry products we are buying are from a safe farm.

And rvalkass's concerns are quite genuine.

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The worry is if bird flu mutates into a form that cna be passed between humans as easily as influenza or the common cold

Overuse of existing medicines can result in possible resistance from virus. Therefore, most of the government do not allow these drugs to be taken as a precautionary measure. The medicine is prescribed only in case someone is diagnosed as infected.

[TheDarkLord]

ebula, on Feb 21 2006, 07:42 AM, said:

What is 'Bird Flu?
A Wikipedia defination speaks about what is bird flu?
Treatment
The only medicine developed Oseltamivir, used for avian influenza treatment are manufactured by Cipla, Ranbaxy and Hetero Drugs. These companies are underprepared for a massive outbreak in humans.

Global Epidemic
After China, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia now it has reached India. Although no human cases found, it is spreading at an alarming rate across the nation. According to WHO case report:
Countries like India is totally underprepared for a possible outbreak. Only in Mumbai, the consumption of: 1,00,000 chicken a day in 7,000 eateries, 3,000 illegal shops, 620 licensed stores; and only 210 municipal inspectors to ensure hygiene. Although, on receiving reports of infection in poultry farm, Indian government has started culling of chickens on massive scale, still we can't trust poultry items from countries which lack the seriousness of the event, especially African nations. Hope we should not import poultry items from any of the third world countries or start our own farm, if we cant resist the temptation of chicken.

Notice from KuBi:

Edited topic title to reduce page distortion.

That is is exactly like saying, 'lets not go outside in the winter or we might get frost bite', or 'lets not go outside in the summer or we might get stroke!'

Kinda sensless dont you think?

Oh, and its not like every chicken has it, its like a 1 in a million chance.

[Kim]

Eating chicken should still be safe, as long as you're in the US. Like someone wrote above, cook your bird well...don't eat raw chicken...and if any flying animal with feather starts acting sick, don't touch it. The real worry is transmission to human. It might already be happening to some extent, and "a businessman" from the US can catch it and transmit it to whomever he comes in contact with in America. That's the real worry.

[ongnoai]

Kim, on Feb 22 2006, 03:08 AM, said:

Eating chicken should still be safe, as long as you're in the US. Like someone wrote above, cook your bird well...don't eat raw chicken...and if any flying animal with feather starts acting sick, don't touch it. The real worry is transmission to human. It might already be happening to some extent, and "a businessman" from the US can catch it and transmit it to whomever he comes in contact with in America. That's the real worry.

Lol Kim, I don't recall having seen recently anybody eating raw poultry meat, but that's beside the point. The current paranoia comes indeed from the assumption the virus could mutate and lead to direct human-to-human infection. There's no basis for thinking that the mutation has already occured or will occur, but there are so many odd birds in this world of ours that you'd never know the reasons why that "businessman" you're speaking about might have got the avian flu.

I say, beware the businessmen!, you all, folks

Cheers, all!

[rogeruk]

From a good source while browsing some websites on the virus...

You cant get bird flu from eating an infected chicken lol. Unlike the madcows disease which you get from eating food.

[BordaForx]

Eating chicken is still safe after the Avian Flu, that is, if you eat it cooked. The only way you can get H5N1 in your body is by touching bird droppings, blood, or eating bird raw (which I hope nobody does). Since the Avian Flu can't be spreaded people to people, it is still actually under control. Unless a mutation comes along, a pandemic might come along if it come be spreaded from people to people, like the Spanish Flu in 1918 and 1919, which was caused by H5N1. People who are diagnosed with bird flu are usually farmers in more undeveloped countries.

i.e. A family of farmers in Vietnam were told by the Vietnamese government to kill their chicken because there were signs of the avian flu in the birds. The farmers, being poor, ate all the chicken they thought were still "okay". If this continues, mutation might develop and this avian flu might eventually become, a world-wide disaster.