Frozen duck meat with H5N1 suspected to have been sold to consumers in Germany

Scandal in Bavaria? German consumers may have been sold duck meat contaminated with H5N1, according to the statement of a Bavarian government official yesterday. A sample of poultry taken from a slaughterhouse in a Bavarian town that recently witnessed an outbreak of H5N1 found 18 frozen birds with the virus.

Bavaria took quick action to cull over 120,000 suspected birds after the August 1 outbreak in Wachenroth; another 200,000+ were culled after the recent discovery at the plant, as a precaution. It’s unlikely that the meat will pose a threat even if consumed, since cooking meat properly generally renders the virus inactive; a greater risk comes from the handling of uncooked contaminated meat.

Full story link below from CIDRAP, via H5N1 blog.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/sep1007ducks.html