Safety Measures - Food Preparation Safety

Additional barriers exist: even if, by some remote chance, a chicken or turkey carrying the Asian avian influenza virus enters the food supply, there is no reason to think a person can get avian influenza from handling the meat. And even if there were viruses in the meat, normal cooking (to 165 degrees F) would kill them.

The World Health Organization and the U.S. government call for proper handling and cooking of poultry products. The instructions are the same as they have always been, and they are printed on each package of fresh chicken and turkey sold in the United States. Basically, they are to keep the product refrigerated or frozen until cooking; keep raw meat and poultry separate from other food; wash up after handling raw meat or poultry; cook thoroughly; keep hot foods hot and refrigerate leftovers immediately.

“Bird Flu”

What You Need To Know

You’ve probably heard about “bird flu” – the disease that has killed poultry overseas and more than 100 people, too. Could it cause problems in the United States? Here are some important facts you need to know.

“Bird Flu” Facts

“Bird flu” is NOT the same thing as human pandemic flu. “Bird flu” is the Asian strain of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza that is devastating to flocks of poultry. Humans who have gotten it have had close contact with infected birds, mostly in rural villages in Asia. Where there is no such contact, there’s no human disease.

Some fear that Asian avian influenza could be the basis for ahuman disease if the virus changes to the point where it can spread easily from human to human. But that hasn’t happened, and some scientists doubt that it ever will.

Your food supply is protected. The poultry industry and the U.S.government take Asian avian influenza very seriously. Security on poultry farms is very tight. Birds are kept indoors so they will not mix with wild birds, which can carry AI.

Testing programs are in place. The industry and state governments sponsor extensive testing programs to watch for any signs of Asian avian influenza.

Any flock found to be infected with highly pathogenic H5N1 would be destroyed on the farm and would not enter the food supply.

Birds are inspected by USDA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspects every chicken and turkey heading into the food supply in this country. In the unlikely event that birds with Asian avian influenza would leave the farm, USDA inspection would keep them from entering the food supply.

You can’t get it from properly handled and cooked food. What if an infected bird did somehow get into the food supply? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you can’t get avian influenza from properly handled and cooked food. The USDA recommends cooking poultry to a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When preparing eggs, the yolk and white should both be firm, and any dishes containing egg should be cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. That will ensure that any influenza viruses that may be present would be destroyed.

source: http://www.avianinfluenzainfo.com/index.html

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Safety and Prevention

Safety Measures -Monitoring, Surveillance & Testing

Industry and government have programs in place to detect avian influenza early. While the emphasis is on H5N1 highly pathogenic AI, we are also on the alert for other varieties of the disease, even although these pose no threat to humans. We focus on the H5 and H7 types of avian influenza because these are the only ones that can go from the mild, or "low-pathogenic" form to the severe or highly pathogenic form, and only highly pathogenic AI can be threatening to humans. Programs include:

Wild Bird Monitoring

The federal government has launched a program to take up to 100,000 samples from wild birds across the country this year. Alaska is a major focus of the sampling program in order to detect the presence of Asian bird flu in migratory birds that spend the winter in Asia and the summer in Alaska. The objective is to detect any incursion of Asian bird flu into North America via this route and give advance warning.

State Surveillance and Testing

Major poultry production states have monitoring and surveillance programs in which backyard flocks, small flocks, and other birds are tested for avian influenza. No outbreak will go unnoticed.

Chicken Flock Testing

The National Chicken Council is also sponsoring a program to ensure that flocks that will enter the food supply are free of Asian bird flu and the other hazardous types of avian influenza. Participating companies test each flock while it is still on the farm. If any flock tests positive for the H5 or H7 types of avian influenza, regardless of pathogenicity, that flock will be destroyed on the farm and none of the birds will enter the food supply.

Safety Measures - Prevention

Asian bird flu (H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza) could most likely spread to commercial flocks through contact with infected wild birds. The top priority is therefore to prevent such contact. Numerous barriers are in place to accomplish this, including:

Sheltered Production Conditions

In the United States, nearly all commercial chickens and turkeys are grown in enclosed housing with restricted access to the outdoors. The animals simply never go outside and are kept in the same building from shortly after they hatch until they are taken to the processing plant. Wild birds are not allowed into the buildings.

This is very different from conditions in Asia, where chickens and other poultry are allowed to run at large and mix with wild birds that may be carrying the virus. Human cases of avian influenza are typically associated with these types of “village chickens” or backyard poultry.

Biosecurity on the Farm

Poultry growers (farmers) and the companies with whom they work are keenly aware of the need for biosecurity, the prevention of infection by physical barriers. Access to farms is strictly limited; plastic boot covers and disinfectant foot baths are encouraged; and growers are not permitted to have other types of poultry on their farms, among other precautions.

Import Barriers

The United States supply of poultry is overwhelmingly domestic in origin, with all of the turkey and about 99.8% of the chicken consumed in the U.S. being produced in the U.S. The only exception is a small amount of chicken that comes from Canada, which has veterinary and sanitary control systems recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as equivalent to our own.

Furthermore, USDA has officially banned imports from any country or region that has had Asian bird flu in domestic poultry. Therefore, there is no danger of Asian bird flu entering the U.S. via lawful imports, and federal authorities are also on the alert for smuggled product or animals.

Protecting U.S. Poultry Flocks and the Food Supply from Avian Influenza

Asian bird flu is H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) – a disease of birds that has occurred overseas but has never been detected in North America. The U.S. poultry industry is working with our partners in government to guard commercial poultry flocks. Asian avian influenza is not easily caught or transmitted by humans. No one knows if it will ever become a “human to human” disease that could form the basis for an outbreak of human influenza. The programs that are now in place will keep AI out of our food supply and limit the chance that it may become more dangerous to humans.

Through an array of biosecurity measures, wild bird testing, and testing of commercial flocks by industry and government, we aim to keep it out of our flocks, eradicate it if it occurs, and assure the safety of the food supply.

Avian Influenza Background Information

About Avian Influenza

Avian influenza (AI) is caused by the Influenza A virus and can affect all bird species. It is believed that wild birds, especially migratory waterfowl, carry the virus and they may or may not show signs of having the virus. The problems arise when the virus infects bird species such as chickens and turkeys.

The different subtypes for the AI virus are assigned based on surface antigens on the virus HA and NA subtypes. H stands for Hemagglutinin of which there are 15 types. N stands for Neuraminidase of which there are 9 types. In theory, there are 135 different subtypes of the virus that cause Avian Influenza. The more severe viruses with higher mortality rates for birds are called highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (HP AI) and the less severe viruses that cause milder illnesses are low pathogenic Avian Influenza (LP AI). Although most H5 and H7 viruses are low path, so far highly pathogenic strains have only arisen from H5 and H7 virus types. Since viruses are made up of genetic material and undergo mutations, it is possible for the viruses to mutate from a LP AI to a HP AI form. For that reason, the detection of any AI outbreak requires that producers, veterinarians, and government officials work quickly to contain and control the virus.

History of Highly Pathogenic AI Outbreaks

The last major outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HP AI) affecting the poultry industry in the United States was in 1983-84 when H5N2 was found in Pennsylvania and Virginia. A small outbreak of H5N2 HP AI occurred outbreak in Texas in 2004 in broilers. The AI strain in Texas was not clinically highly pathogenic in the birds; however, it was genetically similar to other highly pathogenic strains and was classified as HP AI. H5N2 has not been associated with any human illnesses.

In recent years, outbreaks of HP AI have occurred in other countries including H5N1 in Hong Kong in 1997, H7N7 in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2003, and H7N3 in British Columbia, Canada, in 2004. An outbreak of H5N1 HP AI has been ongoing in Asia for several. The concerns about the ongoingAsian outbreak are related to possibility that the avian virus could mutate and more easily infect humans. At this time, the H5N1 virus does not easily infect humans, and the H5N1 highly pathogenic virus does not exist in the United States.

Does Avian Influenza affect humans?

The outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 in Asia has been associated with more than 200 human illnesses and more than 100 deaths from 2003-2006. Outside of this situation, it is very rare for humans to experience health problems due to AI. In the United States, the only known illnesses have been conjunctivitis of the eyes when people handling sick birds have then touched their eyes. In 1997, it was reported in Hong Kong that eighteen people became ill and six people died after contracting H5N1 HP AI after direct contact with sick birds. In 2003, one fatal human case was reported in the Netherlands due to H7N7, involving a veterinarian with prolonged direct contact with infected birds. The outbreak in British Columbia, Canada in 2004 was also associated with some cases of human illness when there was close contact with sick birds. It is important that farm workers and animal health professionals use proper protective clothing and equipment when working with birds infected with AI or other diseases.

source: http://www.avianinfluenzainfo.com/index.html

Avian Flu: Questions and Answers

What is difference between "bird flu," avian influenza, and pandemic human influenza?

"Bird flu" is the common name for a severe form of avian influenza, a disease of birds that is caused by a virus. It is technically called H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Human beings do not normally catch influenza from birds. Some scientists are afraid that H5N1 HPAI could turn into a disease that could spread easily among humans, but this has not yet occurred and some doubt that it ever will.

Can humans get bird flu now?    Unfortunately, yes. About 200 people, most of them in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, or China, have developed a human form of the disease, typically from direct contact with infected birds among the poultry flocks that live and roam freely in rural villages.

How can human infection be prevented?

There are no known cases in which human infection is believed to have resulted from handling poultry meat or eating cooked poultry. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC): "You cannot get avian influenza from properly handled and cooked poultry and eggs.” There currently is no scientific evidence that people have been infected with bird flu by eating safely handled and properly cooked poultry or eggs. Even if poultry and eggs were to be contaminated with the virus, proper cooking would kill it. In fact, recent studies have shown that the cooking methods that are already recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for poultry and eggs to prevent other infections will destroy influenza viruses as well." Instructions for safe handling and cooking are printed on every package of chicken and turkey sold in the United States.

Can you get any type of avian influenza by eating chicken, turkey or other poultry products?

There is no danger of acquiring avian influenza from normally and properly cooked food. Avian influenza is caused by a virus. Like all types of viruses, avian influenza is destroyed by the heat of normal cooking.

What about handling meat from an infected chicken or turkey?

No chickens or turkeys known or suspected to be infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza are processed for sale as raw meat in the United States. Washing the hands after handling raw poultry is always a good precaution, but consumers in the United States have virtually no chance of encountering meat from a chicken or turkey infected with avian influenza.

Do we have avian influenza in the United States?

As of the spring of 2006, we have never had an outbreak of Asian-type H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza in the United States. We have had mild or low-pathogenic avian influenza, most recently in 2004. The H5N2 outbreak in one flock was designated as highly pathogenic on the basis of a laboratory test, but a more definitive test failed to confirm high pathogenicity. The last confirmed outbreak of HPAI in the United Stateswas an H5N2 (not H5N1) inPennsylvania in 1983 and 1984. No known human illness or infections resulted from the outbreak.

What would be the significance of a finding of H5N1 in wild birds?

The U.S. government is sampling wild birds in Alaskaand other areas to look for H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza. The government expects to announce any detection of H5N1 even before the level of pathogenicity is determined and before it is determined if the strain is the Asian one. Therefore, an initial detection of H5N1 could turn out to be a low pathogenic, North American variety that has nothing to do with Asian avian influenza. Even if it is the Asian variety, there is no immediate threat to commercial poultry production because of the geographical separation of migratory bird areas and commercial production areas, and because commercial flocks are kept in sheltered environments.

What happens when there is an outbreak of highly pathogenic AI in commercial flocks?

The policy of the industry and the government is to eradicate the disease as quickly as possible by destroying any flocks in which highly pathogenic AI is found. The animals are all destroyed and disposed of through environmentally sound methods.

What is done to protect people in the event of an outbreak?

The people involved in destroying flocks wear gloves, masks and protective clothing. People who have no reason to be on a farm involved in the outbreak are kept away.

What is done to protect healthy animals and prevent the spread of disease?

Poultry companies and farmers practice strict "biosecurity" at all times, and it is heightened during any outbreak of avian influenza. The trucks carrying feed are hosed down, personnel wear protective clothing and plastic boots and go through footbaths, farmers stay away from community gatherings, and farmers generally keep their farms locked down until the problem has passed.

How is Asian H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza being kept out of theUnited States?    The United States has multiple lines of defense against Asian H5N1 HPAI:

Wild bird monitoring: The U.S.government, working with the state and regional Flyway Councils, has an extensive program of monitoring migratory wild birds to spot Asian bird flu before it reaches commercial flocks. Thousands of samples are being taken in Alaska, where it is believed that migratory North American birds may commingle with birds that spend their winters in Asia. The monitoring program is intended to give early warning of any incursion of the virus into North America via migratory birds.

Transmission from live animals: The importation of birds or bird products from the affected area has been banned by the U.S. government.

Transmission from poultry products: The United States has never imported poultry from Southeast Asia, and the government has banned imports from other affected regions. In fact, the United States is a large poultry exporter and imports very little poultry.

Transmission via human beings: The virus has not yet developed the ability to pass easily from human to human. If it does so, that will be considered a public health emergency and appropriate steps will be taken.

Are commercial poultry flocks tested for avian influenza?

Yes. State governments and the industry have extensive monitoring, surveillance and testing programs.

Does intensive animal production as practiced in the United Statescontribute to the development of avian influenza?

The modern type of animal production used in theUnited States is actually more protective of birds and their health than more traditional systems. In theUnited States, chickens and turkeys are usually raised in enclosed buildings called growout houses. More than 20,000 chickens or 4,000 turkeys are placed in a single building. Yet the health of the poultry flocks today is probably better than it has ever been. This is because of improvements in poultry housing, selective breeding for disease resistance, protection from potential disease carriers such as wild birds and continuous health oversight by poultry veterinarians. In contrast, the "village chickens" inSoutheast Asia are raised in the traditional manner that has changed little in hundreds of years. They are fully exposed to the environment and to potential disease carriers, and they have minimal or no access to veterinary medical care.

Are "free-range" poultry in the United States at risk of getting avian influenza?

In "free-range" systems in the United States, chickens or turkeys are raised in production houses but have access to a fenced area just outside — a pen. Chickens or turkeys are not actually allowed to cover a large area but are kept within the pen, and there is nothing in the pen to attract wild birds. If there is any threat in the environment, the chickens or turkeys can always be brought indoors. Most producers feel that a conventional operation, in which chickens or turkeys are kept inside all the time, is easier to manage from the biosecurity of view, but the risk of "free-range" birds getting avian influenza is generally believed to be low.