Stop bird flu import of poultry meat?

Spread of bird flu with imported poultry meat

01/05/2013

While the number of infections with the bird flu virus H7N9 continues to rise in China, experts such as the head of the Institute for Biological Safety Research (IBS) in Halle, Alexander Kekulé, point out the possible transmission pathways of the pathogens as far as Germany. The microbiologist and head of the IBS called in a recent interview with the news agency „Reuters“ an immediate import stop for poultry meat from China.

At the beginning of April, the head of the Institute for Biological Safety Research had a contribution for the newspaper „The daily level“ warned against the risks of a possible import of H7N9 viruses with imported Chinese poultry meat. The expert re-evaluates the possibility of importing poultry meat from the eastern Chinese province of Shandong back into the European Union (EU) since 2008 as extremely critical. In his view, stricter safety measures for the import of poultry meat should be introduced across Europe as soon as possible.

Stop poultry imports from China
The head of the IBS said that imports of poultry meat from China would have to be temporarily halted in order to prevent the transmission of the bird flu virus H7N9 in this way. „We have to be careful that infected chicken is not accidentally sold in Europe“, so Kekulé told the news agency „Reuters“. The expert criticized the fact that the EU has not been able to impose an import ban on Chinese chicken. A transfer in this way is completely ruled out, since the infection path of the not previously occurring in humans H7N9 virus infections has not yet been clarified. According to the Chinese health authorities, only about 40 percent of those infected had direct contact with live poultry, so that a large proportion of those affected would need to consider a different transmission route.

Increasing number of H7N9 infections in China
So far, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 126 people in China have been infected with the bird flu virus H7N9, and 24 have died as a result of the infection. Also from Taiwan, the first infection with the pathogen was reported recently. The patients showed symptoms of avian influenza in addition to complaints such as fever, sore throat or nausea and vomiting, usually severe cough and especially often developed severe pneumonia. For birds, however, the H7N9 virus is apparently more harmless than many other avian influenza viruses. The infected animals often showed no complaints, which according to Alexander Kekulé also carries a certain risk. „Because the poultry does not become noticeably ill, it can never be ruled out that diseased chickens, ducks or pigeons are consumed“, explained the expert.

Risk of an avian influenza pandemic?
If the H7N9 viruses also occur in wild birds or can be transmitted from person to person, the risk of infection in the consumption of poultry meat according to a consistent assessment of the global spread is a rather subordinate problem. It is true that the virus has to be transmitted extremely efficiently from person to person for the development of a pandemic, something that according to the IBS leader it is still a long way from. However, it can not be ruled out that the H7N9 viruses can rapidly achieve a more efficient interpersonal transmission through mutation, explained Kekulé. (Fp)

Also read:
Rising number of bird flu deaths in China
Transmission of H7N9 also from person to person
Enigmatic transmission of bird flu virus H7N9
Bird flu pathogen has reached Beijing
No all-clear for bird flu virus H7N9

Picture: schemmi