New Delhi: After eight cases of Bird Flu were reported in India on Saturday, are you still wondering if you should bite into that chicken sandwich?
You could, if the chicken has been properly cooked to a temperature more than 75 degrees Celsius.
But one should be careful while handling poultry and wild birds, and also while cooking non-vegetarian dishes.
The World Health Organisation says the main cause of human infection is direct contact with poultry infected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.
Virus can spread through saliva, mucus and droppings of infected birds. It's those who are exposed to slaughtering and de-feathering of birds that are most at risk.
Doctors are worried that the Bird Flu virus could mutate and combine with human influenza, leading to a global outbreak of highly contagious flu.
So the Bird Flu symptoms to look out for are: fever, cough, sore throat, muscle ache, eye infections and pneumonia.
Though there is no vaccine against the H5N1 strain of Bird Flu, two anti-viral drugs Oseltamivir, or Tamiflu, and Zanamivir or Relenza are thought to be effective.
The Government has also decided to brand poultry products for standardization.
So far, the country doesn't look like it has anything to worry about, so chicken might still be on the menu for a while.
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