More on avian flu
The Punch today informs us that an estimated 60,000 birds have died of the flu thus far. 35,000 of which were at Sambawa Farms, owned by the Minister of Sports, Alhaji Saidu Samaila Sambawa. The Federal Executive Council has approved the sum of N2billion as compensation to affected farms. Meanwhile, the price of chickens in Kano has dropped from N6-700 down to N300, as poultry farmers try to offload their stock before they are killed. The Minister of Sports, the paper continues, was not available for comment, being still in Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations. Meanwhile, the Minister for Agriculture says, "There is no need for panic. There have been no human deaths. Infected birds pose no serious threat to human beings if well cooked." I beg to differ. From what I've read, the virus can be found both on the inside and on the outside of eggs and caught by handling raw chicken meat. If the disease has spread to Enugu as one of the comments to my last post suggests, there could be huge problems ahead.
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3 comments:
Are these guys serious! If this is the same flu as was in Turkey, then there is a serious threat to humans!
Anyone with a right mind will have to stop eating bird meat. Who knows what this is going to develop into!
I want to fly a hang glider across the UK
eating well cooked bird meat and eggs should pose no threats. it comes when bird fluids come in contact with unprotected surfaces on humans, very much like transmitting a cold or flu virus. so, proper food handling to prevent cross contamination is important.
How do people become infected?
Direct contact with infected poultry, or surfaces and objects contaminated by their faeces, is presently considered the main route of human infection.
To date, most human cases have occurred in rural or periurban areas where many households keep small poultry flocks, which often roam freely, sometimes entering homes or sharing outdoor areas where children play.
As infected birds shed large quantities of virus in their faeces, opportunities for exposure to infected droppings or to environments contaminated by the virus are abundant under such conditions.
Moreover, because many households in Asia depend on poultry for income and food, many families sell or slaughter and consume birds when signs of illness appear in a flock, and this practice has proved difficult to change.
Exposure is considered most likely during slaughter, defeathering, butchering, and preparation of poultry for cooking.
Source: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/avian_faqs/en/index.html#poultry
We are not amused but we found this online;
"I think GOD has been given enough the continent of Africa punishments of all kind of tribal and religion war,and all kind of diseases like, malaria, Aids and so on, now bird flue......Please GOD take out bird flue from this continent. We have enough"
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