Can You Get Bird Flu From Eating Eggs or Poultry?

You can’t imagine this: the prices for eggs have taken off. Depending on where you live in the United States, the egg box can cost up to $ 10, that is, if you can find one on the shelves in the first place.

This sudden surge in prices is not only caused by inflation. It is also caused by the bird’s flu H5N1, which in recent months has devastated poultry farming, which led to the lack of eggs throughout the country.

Although the disease affected millions of birds, it is important to note that the CDC is still classifying the risk of public health health as low. Nevertheless, you can wonder: “Can I get bird flu from eating eggs?” This is what you need to know.

How is bird flu spread?

Influenza H5N1 is widespread in wild birds around the world and currently causes outbreaks in the US poultry farm and dairy cows. According to CDC, “bird flu viruses are very contagious among birds”, and infected birds can shed bird flu viruses in their saliva, the secretion of the nose and feces.

Birds can become infected when they come into contact with the virus, as it is spilled with sick birds or on polluted surfaces. Bird flu viruses A usually do not infect people, but CDC has some rare cases of human infections with these viruses. There is little evidence that the H5N1 flu can spread from one person to another, and such cases are extremely rare.

Currently, people who come into close contact with infected animals are much more often obtained by bird flu than the general public.

Can you get a bird flu from the use of eggs?

The risk of obtaining H5N1 from the use of eggs or poultry and other meat is extremely low, especially if you take the right precaution.

“The infected chickens will dump the virus in their feces and from the respiratory tract,” – according to the scientist, the attitus of Ruvdiger Hauk, Doctor of Philosophy. “This means that eggs and meat are unlikely to be transmitted to the virus.”

It is worth noting that in the 2015 report, the US Department of Agriculture inspects each meat, poultry and egg products in the country (as well as the products themselves), before something amazes the shelves, so the eggs purchased in the store, probably.

Can you say whether an egg came from an infected bird?

Infected chickens quickly get sick after infection with the virus and usually demonstrate obvious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing and a noticeable absence of energy. They also experience a drop in egg production. The eggs that they lay down can be small, soft and accelerated, so they probably will not get into the cardboard anyway.

“Birds infected with H5N1 cease to lay eggs and die for several days, so eggs or meat of birds infected with H5N1 is unlikely to reach the client,” says Dr. Hauk.

Of course, if you buy an egg, which seems not entirely correct, it is best to throw it away.

How can I protect myself from bird flu?

The scientist, the girl Joseph Jambron, the Doctor of Philosophy, emphasizes that the best way to stay healthy is to practice the habits of food safety in cooking – something, what you should do in any case to avoid diseases such as Salmonella and E. Coli.

• Always cook meat and poultry farming to the corresponding internal temperature: Thorough cooking kills bacteria and viruses that may be present in products, including bird flu. Chicken and eggs should always be prepared to an inner temperature of 165 degrees in Fahrenheit.
• Prepare meat and poultry from products that will not be prepared: Avoid cross -pollution, separating poultry farming from fresh products such as leaf greens. “First, make your salad, and then prepare the chicken,” says Dr. Jambron.
• Avoid raw milk and nonpasturized eggs: According to recent FDA research, pasteurization is effective for killing the H5N1 virus in milk and eggs. The milk and eggs that you will find in most grocery stores are pasteurized, but will not hurt the label to make sure.