Bird Flu Madness

The world has gone mad about bird flu. In Brazil, first-half 2006 results for poultry exports, initially projected to rise between 5% and 10%, are instead down 11.5% in volume and nine percent in cash value compared with the same period in 2005 - and this before highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has even reached the Americas. Part of this loss is due to trade barriers, but reports recognize that there is a large component of bird flu phobia; poultry sales are down all over the world, leading to much unemployment and economic hardship.

All this is totally unnecessary. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that H5N1-infected poultry, their eggs, and other products are perfectly safe to eat, provided they are cooked properly. Raw egg and uncooked foie gras are out, but for the gourmet, cooked foie gras has long been available. People who prefer their boiled egg with a runny yolk will have to make do with the 3-minute version, but this cannot seriously be considered a hardship, compared with unemployment in the egg trade.

In Great Britain, some eggs are now branded in invisible, heat-sensitive ink, so that when they are placed in boiling water the brand mark appears after 3 minutes for soft, longer for medium and still longer for hard boiled, according to customer preference. This measure could usefully be adopted in other countries, perhaps with the local equivalent of the word "safe" appearing after a safe temperature has been reached.

So shop-bought, cleaned fresh, frozen, or barbecued poultry is quite safe to eat if properly cooked. The safety of preparing the birds is another matter. The H5N1 virus is spread between birds, and to humans, by bird feces; therefore the feathers and intestines of infected birds are contaminated. This means that wet markets are highly contaminated, and that people who pluck and gut poultry are at risk. Commercial poultry processors clothe their workers in gowns, gloves, and masks, which serve to protect them from avian flu. Vendors of live and whole poultry should take the same precautions. The consumer should avoid wet markets and not prepare feathered poultry, whether alive or dead, in the home, without doing the same. Pouring boiling water over the bird before plucking helps to kill external virus, but hands must be protected by gloves or the ubiquitous plastic supermarket shopping bags while cleaning out the intestines, and carefully washed afterwards, to avoid hand-to-mouth transmission.

What about vaccinated poultry? Well, the poultry vaccine protects the fowl from illness but does not stop the H5N1 virus from multiplying in the bird and spreading. But again, proper cooking will ensure that vaccinated fowl are safe to eat.

The big question is: How to get these simple concepts across to the consumer? The public is traditionally wary of government pronouncements, even in democratic countries. Still less do they trust industry statements, deeming them obviously self-serving. It is said that the general public believes whatever it sees on TV, and whatever is repeated three times must also be true. So, in the face of repeated scare pronouncements on TV about bird flu, how do we get the true facts about the disease in poultry across to the general public, so that it will take appropriate precautions without ruining the poultry trade?

One answer could be for respected nongovernmental organizations (NGO) to produce educational campaigns, including programs and spots on TV. But NGOs need funds to operate, and in this case the money would likely come from government and the poultry industry, which could result in undermining the integrity of the effort. A more credible source of funds would be a philanthropic organization. Perhaps the Gates Foundation, with its focus on public health, could be persuaded to part with a few million dollars to promote sanity in a world that has lost its senses over bird flu. Other ideas? Write me.

Jack Woodall is director of the Nucleus for the Investigation of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Institute of Medical Biochemistry at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.