AVIAN FLU AND OUR FOOD

He cleaned the bird, cooked and ate it, then fell ill. A few days later, he died. The autopsy determined that he had died from the dreaded H5N1 virus. It was also found that the neighbour’s birds had died from the same virus. The question that faced the authorities was: Had he died from eating the bird or from coming into contact with the dead birds? After epidemiological investigations, it was concluded that the farmer had died from contact with the birds and not from eating the infected bird.

Avian influenza caused by the deadly H5N1 virus is very much in the news. For three years, the disease has taken a toll on poultry in South East Asia-Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The virus has infected some one hundred and thirty people of whom sixty seven have died. With a mortality rate of over 50 percent, this is serious business. In the last few months, the virus has appeared in places as distant as Russia, Greece, Turkey, Romania, England, Canada and Kuwait.

Thus far, the mode of transmission appears to be from bird to bird and bird to humans. There is no evidence thus far of human to human transmission. The great fear is that the H5N1 virus will mutate through interaction with human influenza viruses thereby acquiring the potential for human to human transmission. If this happens, the World Health Organisation fears a world-wide pandemic similar to the 1918-19 Spanish influenza pandemic which may have arisen in pork and killed 40-100 million persons.

The reservoirs of the H5N1 virus are in waterfowl, aquatic birds and migratory birds. In these birds, the virus passes the time, being excreted in faeces and nasal excretions. When chickens and turkeys come into contact with these birds or their excretions, the chickens and turkeys become infected and usually die. Ducks also act as a reservoir for the virus passing on the deadly virus to their susceptible hosts whether people, chickens or turkeys.

Hence, the reason for denying the entry of feathers from China into TT, is that such feathers may have been contaminated with the virus from the faeces or the excretions of infected birds.

What is the impact on our food supply? The evidence thus far suggests that we humans cannot contract the disease through eating ducks, chickens or turkeys. The virus if present will quickly be killed by cooking. There is therefore absolutely no fear of getting the virus from eating cooked poultry meat. It is only through intimate contact with infected birds that they may come across.

Any such observations must be reported immediately to the authorities at the Ministry of Agriculture or Health. Such birds should be carefully placed in a plastic bag, the bag sealed and the authorities at the Ministry of Agriculture or Health contacted.

Persons who handle such dead or ill birds must do so very carefully, ensuring that the birds do not come into contact with their clothes and rigorously washing their hands after handling.

The major impact of the disease on our food supply has to do with the fact that if the disease is found in any locality, all the poultry in that locality will have to be sacrificed and the carcasses burnt or buried. Just a few days ago, a low pathogenic strain of the virus was found on a farm in British Columbia in Canada and 65,000 ducks had to be destroyed to prevent spread of the disease. In South East Asia over the past three years nearly 300 million heads poultry have been sacrificed.

Evidence indicates that the discovery of the disease in any locality leads to an immediate decrease in the consumption of poultry fell by 40 percent. There really is no reason for this for as I have stressed and I wish to reiterate, there is no fear of contracting the disease from eating cooked poultry. Avian influenza is not, I repeat not a food safety issue.

In a disease outbreak, the persons who are most at risk are the front-line workers who may contact infected, dead or dying birds. These front-line workers include veterinarians, personnel from the Animal Health Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, poultry farmers, bird catchers, persons who deliver the poultry, cottage processor (pluck shop) personnel and slaughterers. In the event that the disease is discovered in a locality, such persons must have first access to Tamiflu and the flu vaccine. The latter does not prevent the disease but it does make the disease a lot less virulent.

There is little risk to consumers purchasing poultry meat from groceries and supermarkets which sell frozen or chilled raw poultry. Persons purchasing and handling raw poultry meat must always follow rules of good hygiene to prevent cross contamination. In any case, this must be standard practice for anyone handling raw meats and raw fish as it must be for handling any raw edible produce. There is also little or no risk to consumers purchasing further processed convenience cooked poultry products and cooked poultry products from food service outlets.

Poultry meat constitutes 88 percent of the meat protein content of the diets of our national community, consuming close to 37 kilograms of poultry meat per person per year. Evidence from all the studies so far carried out in TT indicates that our country and our poultry industry are completely free of the virus. This does not mean that we can let up on our vigilance. If the past is anything to go by, it is only by constant vigilance, surveillance, being prepared and timely interventions by the authorities such as banning feathers and poultry products from infected countries that we will be able to maintain our avian influenza-free status for as long as possible.

There is no scientific justification for comprising our nutritional status by withholding our animal protein requirements provided by poultry meat. Eating cooked poultry meat continues to be safe, nutritious and pleasurable.

DR Desmond Ali was the CEO of CARIRI and has spent much of his working life in the Food Industry. He is now a Food Safety Consultant.