# 1312
Unfolding like a slow motion train wreck, what appeared to be a minor story yesterday about an outbreak of H5N1 at a Polish Turkey farm is now expanding to a genuine mess.
The stories coming out of Poland on this one are a bit confusing, and the timeline of events is uncertain, but it appears that through a series of mistakes infected Turkey meat has made it to market, and in all likelihood, has been sold to consumers.
First the story, then some discussion.
Bird Flu virus found in meat in shops in north Poland
02.12.2007 16:57
In the Pomorze region 480 kg of turkey meat has been found to contain the bird flu virus.
Also it has been announced due to the outbreak in Płock, central Poland, that information bulletins will be passed out in schools tomorrow, Monday December 3rd. Local priests have also stepped in to supply information to local residents.
Ongoing research is being carried out it infected areas in farms around the town of Płock. Vehicles passing through the area are also being disinfected.
Anna Obuchowska, spokeswoman for the Sanitary Inspectorate in the Pomorze region, has stated that the meat came from two warehouses, in Żukow and Sierakowice.
The Żukow plant supplied meat to shops in Gdańsk and Gdynia, with the Sierakowice source providing shops in Człuchów, Chojnice, Kościerzyna and Kartuzy.
Obuchowska has said that there is a search for remaining meat in the shops, but it is unlikely that any remains, as the turkey meat was delivered to the shops at the beginning of the previous week.
Shop employees are under surveillance by the Saniitory Inspectorate for their own safety.
Avian flu has the same effects as 'normal' flu, and can be treated with the same anti-viral treatment, including Tamiflu.
Specialists have stated that meat preparation at temperatures above 70 degrees Celsius should kill any viruses that were present in the meat before its preparation are safe to eat. (jb)
Yesterday it was announced that `bird flu had been found on two poultry farms' and that `there was no cause for alarm'.
While no details were provided, the news stories made it sound as if this was a fresh outbreak, and that it was being contained on the farms where it occurred.
Well, apparently not.
If this story is accurate, and infected meat was delivered to butcher shops a week ago, then this outbreak has been ongoing for some time.
The `advice' that "meat preparation at temperatures above 70 degrees Celsius should kill any viruses that were present in the meat before its preparation are safe to eat" doesn't address the very real possibility that whoever prepares the meal, and handles the raw turkey meat, could be exposed to the virus.
Now, how likely is it that anyone would contract H5N1 from handling raw meat?
Well, we honestly don't know. While the odds are probably not great, they most certainly aren't zero.
But no one seems to want to admit that. Instead they concentrate on the safety of the meat after it is cooked. Assuming, I suppose, that everyone prepares their meals in a biosafety level 4 kitchen.
And the little `factoid' buried in this article that:
Avian flu has the same effects as 'normal' flu, and can be treated with the same anti-viral treatment, including Tamiflu
is so far off the mark, one wonder's what the author was drinking.
Avian flu has demonstrated time and again that it is anything but a `normal flu'. Normal flu's don't kill 60% of their victims.
Bottom line: This appears to be damage control pure and simple. Somebody screwed up (probably a lot of somebody's along the line), and now the authorities are trying to spin this as best they can while they pray no one actually comes down with the virus.
Maybe they get lucky. For everyone's sake, I hope so.
But even so, the mere fact that sick and dying poultry could be processed and end up on consumer's tables in this age of enhanced awareness about avian flu is simply appalling.
Whatever safeguards they had in place simply didn't work.
We either do better, or we will surely suffer the consequences.
