Is it safe to consume eggs and chicken amidst the Bird flu scare?

As state governments warn about yet another virus outbreak after the sudden culling of 17,326 birds, is it safe to consume chicken or eggs amidst the Bird Flu scare?

States like Kerala, Himachal Pradesh have taken a step ahead and alerted

the masses about the H5N8 strain of Bird Flu observing the sudden cullings of thousands of crows, chickens, and ducks that have died in the past few weeks.

However, according to a directive issued by the World Health Organisation and UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, eating chicken and eggs are safe, if cooked properly. Apart from that, AIIMS has also rolled out a few recommendations in terms of cooking poultry based foods. Here’s all you need to know about the recent Bird Flu outbreak and how you can ensure hygiene in terms of cooking chicken or eggs.

Bird flu is also known as 'Avian influenza' or 'Avian flu' as the the name suggests occurs naturally from birds and studies show that this flu is very contagious among birds, which may lead to mass deaths in birds like crow, chicken, ducks to name a few. Infected birds shed flu virus through their saliva, nasal secretions, and faeces; and any contact with these can lead to infection in birds. However, in the recent outbreak, it is believed that most cases of bird flu infection in humans happen after the consumption of infected poultry or in some cases due to contaminated surfaces. However, there’s no such evidence of

human-to-human transmission as of now, Some of the common symptoms of Bird Flu in humans are cold, cough, fever, sore throat, muscle aches, pneumonia.

As bird flu occurs from infected poultry it is always a good idea to minimise the risk by avoiding consumption of chicken or eggs. However, as per the World Health Organisation and UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, poultry related items are safe to consume if cooked properly. However, it is advised to ensure that infected birds do not enter the food chain to avoid the outbreak. Here are a few suggestions about preparation and cooking of poultry based foods.

In the view of the sudden Bird Flu outbreak, AIIMS institute has suggested some easy steps to follow good hygienic cooking practices of poultry-related items.

One must avoid consumption of runny eggs around the bird flu outbreak. Make sure that the egg yolk is firm and ensure that the egg is fit for consumption.

Cooking meat and eggs of hen or duck must be done at or above 70 degrees Celsius to kill the H5N1 flu. Make sure that the meat or eggs are properly cooked.

One must wash hands with lukewarm water for at least 20 seconds after handling eggs or poultry while cooking. As Avian flu also spreads from touching contaminated poultry.