IS POULTRY SAFE TO EAT?
• It is safe to eat poultry – the World Health Organisation,
the UK Food Standards Agency and the European Food Standards Agency
all confirm that you will not get bird flu from eating cooked poultry.
Visit www.food.gov.uk
• As the bird flu virus is heat-sensitive, it would be eradicated
by normal cooking. In any event, there are tight control measures
in place in Britain to prevent any infected birds from reaching the
food chain
• You can continue to cook and enjoy poultry with complete confidence.
Simply follow the usual rules of hygiene - washing hands after handling
raw meat and ensuring poultry is cooked thoroughly
• Poultry is a very healthy, lean, nutritious meat
• British poultry is fully traceable back to independently-assessed
farms for farm-to-fork assurance. Just look for the Red Tractor logo
on pack
AM I SAFE FROM CATCHING BIRD FLU?
• Yes, bird flu is a disease of birds and there is no reason
for public concern
• While it has been known under extreme circumstances to pass
to humans, this has only happened where people have had regular, direct
contact with infected birds and in particular their faeces. The UK
public does not have this level of contact with poultry.
• Some precautions, such as cleaning shoes and washing hands
thoroughly, should be taken if you come into contact with wild birds,
particularly the faeces of migratory wild water birds
• Poultry workers from the affected UK farm are receiving appropriate
vaccines and advice
• Poultry farms in the UK operate at high levels of biosecurity,
which means they have measures in place to keep diseases away from
their flocks and to control an outbreak if it arises
ARE WE PREPARED?
• The industry has been working with the government for four
years to ensure that contingency plans are in place to combat an outbreak
of disease like bird flu
• Detailed control measures are in place across the whole EU
to deal with an outbreak in poultry or other captive birds
• Poultry farmers have been given comprehensive advice on all
aspects of bird flu including advice on how to minimise the risk of
contracting the disease from any infected flock
• Poultry farmers already operate at high levels of biosecurity
WHAT ABOUT A POSSIBLE HUMAN PANDEMIC?
• This outbreak is not a mutated form of H5N1 – it is
a disease of birds, not of humans
• It is not inevitable that the present spread of bird flu amongst
birds will cause a new strain of human-to-human flu that will kill
humans
• While one strain of a flu virus can combine with another strain
in another species, or in humans, at any time, this has not happened
with the bird flu strain H5N1, even though it has been around in birds
and poultry in the Far East for several years
SHOULD WE BRING OUR FREE RANGE FLOCKS INSIDE IN THE REST OF THE COUNTRY?
• DEFRA will continue to monitor the situation and will advise
free range and organic poultry farmers in the rest of the UK if it
is necessary to bring flocks indoors
• The industry and DEFRA have worked with free-range and organic
poultry farmers so they are ready and prepared to bring flocks indoors
if this position changes
• The situation is continually reviewed and both wild and domestic
birds are under careful surveillance for any warning signs
SHOULD WE VACCINATE OUR FLOCKS?
• There are currently no plans for a UK vaccination policy
• UK poultry farmers will follow the advice of scientific and
veterinary experts regarding vaccination of at-risk poultry flocks
WHAT SHOULD THE PUBLIC DO IF THEY FIND DEAD BIRDS IN THE UK?
• If you find one or more dead swans/wild fowl (ducks and geese),
more than 3 dead birds of the same species or more than 5 dead birds
of different species, in the same place, you should contact the DEFRA
Helpline (08459 33 55 77). Currently the Helpline is available between
the following hours Monday - Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday - Sunday
9am to 6pm. You will be asked for details of your finding and its
location
BPC February 2007
