Traditional Pakistani cooking where the food is subjected to around 120 degree Celsius will kill H5N1 virus, as the avian influenza is a heat labile virus with a maximum survival up to 70 degree Celsius. This was stated by the Pakistan Medical Society (PMS) Chairman, Dr Masood Akhtar Sheikh while addressing the emergent meeting of the society.
Dr Akhtar said that properly cooked chicken can dispel all the possibility of virus transmission. Similarly the virus can not survive the extreme cold, thus the people should promote the frozen chicken to avoid the threat of the deadly H5N1 virus.
He observed that migration of the sea birds from Siberia is the main reason for the bird flu in poultry folks. The greatest risk of the bird flu is the back yard poultry flock and the domestic chicken, ducks and other vulnerable birds. The bird flu virus in mainly present in the nostril and the beaks of the affected birds, only those touching there beaks, nostrils and nasal secretions are at risk if they are with out proper bio-protective measures like gloves, gowns, goggles, stocking and shoes, he added.
He, however, said that the chicken sellers taking extra precaution should not sell any bird which is sick or having nasal secretions. Road side selling of the poultry should be avoided, he said, adding that the current winter season is very dangerous as the common flu put the person at greater risk of having bird flu.
He opined that all the efforts must be directed to keep the bird flu restricted to the birds. Mass and timely vaccination of the chickens can stop the bird flu out break in Punjab and Balochistan, he added.
Dr Akhtar said that all efforts should be focused on Punjab as according to the Pakistan economic survey 2006-2007, meat production in Pakistan is 514 million tons while only Punjab produces 331.6 millions of tons, making its share 64.5 percent. The in house poultry farms and the habit of keeping the dangerous bird should be avoided to avoid Punjab from contracting bird flu, Dr Akhtar added.
He said that bird flu virus leaves its effect on people involved in egg collection, workers associated with the poultry, business, and poultry feed providers.
Dr Akhtar said that 430,000 chickens were culled in the year 2006-2007 while only one case of the human bird fly has been confirmed indicating a very low virulence of the interspecies transfer of the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza.
Dr Israr Hussain Asif told the participants of the meeting that Punjab and Balochistan being not affected by the bird flu should adopt strict preventive measures and the people should not insist for inter-provincial transfer of the birds and poultry to avoid the disease spreading to the Punjab. The people should slaughter the ducks and avoid keeping the chickens as a hobby in houses, he added.