Experts Warn of Bird Flu Risks With Lunar New Year

When Chinese people gather all over the world to celebrate Lunar New Year at the end of January, chicken will be standard fare on their dining tables. But experts are warning the jump in demand and the way live chickens are packed densely in crates, moved across borders and slaughtered is a sure recipe for trouble and could mean more outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in birds and humans.

The Chinese have a penchant for cooking and consuming freshly slaughtered chickens, but that age-old habit requires them to shop at neighbourhood markets where buyers and sellers are exposed to poultry in often unsanitary conditions. Eating well-cooked chicken poses no danger but slaughtering and handling infected chickens does. Read More ....


Source: AlertNet