Amid bird flu outbreak, Bihar asks people to eat chicken, eggs

Patna: The Bihar state government has advised residents to eat chicken and eggs saying they are safe even at the time of bird flu or avian influenza outbreaks reported from several Indian states.

Through formal advertisements in several local newspapers, the state government said the Indian method of cooking leaves little scope for the viruses to survive. It also said bird flu doesn’t infect humans if the poultry products are consumed after cooking properly.

“The Indian method of cooking normally ensures temperature above 70 degree Celsius which kills the bird flu viruses. However, eating of raw or half-cooked poultry products should be avoided,” says an advertisement issued by the Animal and Fisheries Resources Department, Government of Bihar.

Explaining how the poultry products are safe for consumption, the government advertisement said in the Indian method, chickens are normally roasted at 150 degree Celsius, eggs boiled at 100 C, and tandoor prepared at 240 C , while chicken curry requires at least 140 C to cook.

The official advisory also cited the WHO and OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) to prove its point. “According to WHO and OIE too, consumption of poultry and its products is safe at the time of bird flu provided they are cooked properly and with care,” said the government advisory.

The government advisory came after people avoided eating chicken and poultry products fearing they would catch bird flu. As per the report, the price of chicken fell by 50 per cent after people stopped eating it following the death of chickens, crows and other birds from various districts in Bihar.

Alarmed by the birds’ death, animal husbandry department officials sent 531 avian influenza samples for tests to Regional Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory, Kolkata in January. All the samples tested negative.

“Altogether 7,500 avian influenza samples have been sent to Kolkata laboratory since April 2020 while 531 samples were sent in January 2021. All the samples have tested negative,” animal husbandry department’s assistant director Dr Diwakar Prasad told the media.

So far, the outbreak of bird flu in poultry birds has been confirmed in nine Indian states - Kerala, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttrakhand, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

In a statement, the federal Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said the viral disease has also been confirmed in crows in Uttarakhand, Gujarat and in peacocks in Maharashtra. The ministry said control and containment operations were going on in the affected areas of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.