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ADVISORY BULLETIN: 091208-301
LOCATION:
Hong Kong
SITUATION:
Bird Flu Alert
DATE: Tuesday,
09 DEC 2008
STATUS: Confirmed
INFORMATION: Three dead chickens tested positive for bird flu in Hong Kong, prompting the city to suspend poultry imports for 21 days and begin slaughtering 80,000 birds.
“We feel that Hong Kong is facing a new alert for bird flu,” said York Chow, secretary for food and health.
The chickens, found Monday at a farm with 60,000 birds, had the H5 virus and further tests were being done to see if they had the deadly H5N1 strain.
The farm and neighboring poultry operations were declared part of an infected zone, and about 80,000 birds in the area would be killed to prevent the spread of the disease.
At least 245 people have died of bird flu worldwide since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.
Hong Kong’s government has been encouraging retailers to stop selling live birds, and the majority of shops have given up their licenses to sell live poultry.
Avian influenza is an infection caused by avian (bird) influenza (flu) viruses.
These influenza viruses occur naturally among birds.
Wild birds worldwide carry the viruses in their intestines, but usually do not get sick from them.
However, avian influenza is very contagious among birds and can make some domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys, very sick and kill them.
Symptoms of avian influenza in humans have ranged from typical human influenza-like symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches) to eye infections, pneumonia, severe respiratory diseases (such as acute respiratory distress), and other severe and life-threatening complications.
The symptoms of avian influenza may depend on which virus caused the infection.
Most cases of avian influenza infection in humans have resulted from direct or close contact with infected poultry or surfaces contaminated with secretions and excretions from infected birds.
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.
ADVISORY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
advise persons to protect against possible infections from poultry to do the following:
- Wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw poultry and eggs.
- Clean cutting boards and other utensils with soap and hot water to keep raw poultry from contaminating other foods.
- Use a food thermometer to make sure you cook poultry to a temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit Consumers may wish to cook poultry to a higher temperature for personal preference.
- Cook eggs until whites and yolks are firm.
Contact SCG at info@scginternational.com for further information.
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