Cooking chicken at 75 C for 1 minute kills bird flu virus

Main Category: Bird Flu / Avian Flu
Also Included In: Flu / Cold / SARS
Article Date: 10 Mar 2004 - 0:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon opinions  

Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:4 stars

4 (1 votes)

Healthcare Prof:not yet rated


The Infectious Disease Surveillance Center of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Tuesday the avian influenza virus can be destroyed by cooking chicken meat for at least one minute at a temperature of 75 C or higher.

The center added that there was no reason to be overly concerned by the recent bird flu epidemic because no infection from eating virus-infected chicken meat and eggs has been reported.

Although eggs are sterilized by chlorine before being sold, the center encourages people to wash them in water before using them in case the eggshells are contaminated with chicken droppings.

The center also suggests people wash their hands and cutting boards with soap after handling fresh chicken meat as soap kills the virus.

Amid recent reports of crows testing positive for a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu in Kyoto Prefecture, prefectural and municipal governments in the Kansai region have received many inquiries regarding the possibility of humans being infected with bird flu via wild birds. The governments have urged calm and advise people to properly wash and sterilize their hands for prevention.

As of Monday night, the Kyoto prefectural government had received 1,341 inquiries about bird flu since chickens at Funai Farm in Tanbacho, Kyoto Prefecture, tested positive for the virus on Feb. 27.

Human infection can occur if the virus is inhaled or through direct contact with bird droppings.

However, as the virus is only slightly contagious, and human contact with chickens and other birds is rare, there is little chance that people will become infected with the virus, authorities say.

At a reservoir in Koyaike Park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, where many migratory birds, such as ducks, annually visit, and 40 swans are bred, temporary stands have been set up to allow visitors to wash their hands.

Around the world, no case of human infection from contact with water in which waterfowl live has been reported.

Akane Oka, an engineer of Kyoto Prefectural Livestock Technological Research Center, said, 'People can easily prevent infection by carefully gargling and washing their hands,' adding that people should not handle wild-bird droppings with their bare hands.

From:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20040310wo31.htm

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
Visit our bird flu / avian flu section for the latest news on this subject.
There are no references listed for this article.
Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA
n.p. "Cooking chicken at 75 C for 1 minute kills bird flu virus." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 10 Mar. 2004. Web.
15 Feb. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/6465.php>

APA
n.p. (2004, March 10). "Cooking chicken at 75 C for 1 minute kills bird flu virus." Medical News Today. Retrieved from
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/6465.php.

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.


Bird Flu / Avian Flu

Most Popular Articles



Follow Our Bird Flu News On Twitter

Follow Us On Twitter
Get the latest news for this category delivered straight to your Twitter account. Simply visit our Bird Flu / Avian Flu Twitter account and select the 'follow' option.



View list of all 'What Is...' articles »