Bird Flu study - american awareness low

[miks1975]

Researchers at the Food Policy Institute at the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station have conducted a nationwide survey of public knowledge, attitudes, intentions and behaviors related to the threat of highly pathogenic avian influenza. I thought that you might be interested in the findings. The results of the survey can be found at
http://www.foodpolicyinstitute.org/docs/reports/FPI_AI_Report_Final_c_2007_small.pdf

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

Thanks for the link --

Executive Summary
? Avian influenza is on the national agenda
- Most Americans (93%) indicate they have heard of avian influenza.
- Nearly three-quarters of Americans say they have discussed avian influenza with someone else.
? Still, most Americans don?t know much about avian influenza
- More than half of Americans say they know ?little? or ?nothing? about avian influenza.
- On average, Americans correctly answer fewer than 60% of a series of 22 objective knowledge
questions.
? Uncertainty regarding food-related transmission
- The majority of Americans are aware that animal to human transmission of the avian influenza virus
can occur from contact with live infected birds or feces from infected birds.
- About one-third are unsure if transmission is possible from eating infected meat or eggs.
? Conflicting beliefs about preventing infection
- More than two-thirds of Americans believe the virus is present in uncooked meat of infected
chickens.
- Yet, less than half believe that proper cooking chicken kills the avian influenza virus.
- Few Americans believe infected live birds are easily recognizable; yet, many believe infected raw
meat is readily identifiable.
? Americans perceive the general risks posed by avian influenza to be low
- Americans aren?t very worried about illness with avian influenza.
- Americans report their risk of infection with avian influenza in the next year to be relatively low and
other Americans? risk of infection to be higher, but still moderate.
? Yet, Americans see avian influenza in chicken as more risky
- The majority of Americans report greater perceived risk specifically associated with the consequences
of eating chicken infected with avian influenza.
? Most Americans currently view chicken as safe and continue to eat it
- More than nine-in-ten Americans say they currently eat chicken.
- Americans report that chicken products in the U.S. are currently safe to eat.
? The proximity of avian influenza cases affects Americans likelihood of eating chicken
- The nearer avian influenza comes to the U.S., the less likely Americans are to eat chicken.
- Avian influenza does not necessarily have to emerge in the U.S. to affect poultry consumption.
? Many Americans are unlikely to eat chicken if the avian influenza virus is found inside the
U.S.
- Americans say they are relatively unlikely to eat chicken in the U.S. if avian influenza is found in wild
birds in the U.S. or if someone became sick with avian influenza from eating chicken in the U.S.
- Americans report being least likely to eat chicken in the U.S. if avian influenza was found in chickens
on farms in the U.S. and 39% report that they would definitely not eat chicken.
- Americans report reluctance to eat any chicken products if U.S. chickens are infected.
? Even with a strong, specific assurance of safety, many Americans report that they would be
unlikely to eat chicken again if the avian influenza virus is found inside the U.S.
- One-fifth (20%) say they would never eat chicken again.
- Those participants who said they would eat chicken again, report that it would take an average of 144
days for them to start eating it again (SD=337.67; Mdn=42).

 

[JJackson]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

An interesting read but I wonder about some of the questions & answers.

"Can you catch birdflu by touching infected meat?" What does that mean? If it means 'have people caught birdflu after working with infected poultry' the anser is probably yes. If it means 'can I get birdflu from touching a chicken breast' then the answer is no, there is no evidence it is absorbed through the skin. They said yes, I would have answered no.
Later they asked questions like how likely is it you will catch birdflu in the next year? But did they mean AI H5N1 or were they including non AI pandemic influenza because if AI H5N1 goes pandemic then the 300ish who have caught 'birdflu' will be over-shadowed by those who caught Pandemic H5N1.

 

[Mamabird]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

"Can you catch birdflu by touching infected meat?" What does that mean? If it means 'can I get birdflu from touching a chicken breast' then the answer is no, there is no evidence it is absorbed through the skin. They said yes, I would have answered no.

What would be your answer JJ if they substituted samonella for Bird Flu?

 

[prepdeb]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

When I read the article I couldn't help but worry that the response will only increase the pressure to suppress information for fear of the affect on the poultry industry.

Most people indicated that they would stop purchasing poultry if H5N1 (high path) were reported in US poultry.

 

[JJackson]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

Mamabird I would have probably said no but then I would have been less sure as I know little about samonella.

 

[Mamabird]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

Mamabird I would have probably said no but then I would have been less sure as I know little about samonella.

Fair enough. Here is the caution from the USDA which folks in the nutrition field support. It covers both avian influenza viruses as well as salmonella:

"Q. What does proper food handling mean?

A. Proper handling and cooking of poultry provides protection against all avian influenza viruses, as it does against many viruses and bacteria, including Salmonella and E.coli. Safe food handling and preparation is important at all times. USDA continually reminds consumers to practice safe food handling and preparation every day:

Cooking poultry, eggs, and other poultry products to the proper temperature and preventing cross-contamination between raw and cooked food is the key to safety. You should:

Wash hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw poultry and eggs;
Prevent cross-contamination by keeping raw poultry and eggs away from other foods;
After cutting raw meat, wash cutting board, knife, and countertops with hot, soapy water;
Sanitize cutting boards by using a solution of 1 tablespoon chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of water; and
Use a food thermometer to ensure poultry has reached the safe internal temperature of at least
165 ?F to kill foodborne germs that might be present, including the avian influenza viruses."

Be safe JJ - I want to see future posts from you.

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

I wonder who funded this study? It obviously was done by the food policy institute as that is the name of the link, but was it done on behest of the poultry industry. In situations like this I wonder if the needs of the industry are sometimes not quite as correct as I would wish. For example, the questions tell us that cooking chicken kills the virus. Yes it does but, someone has to handle the raw chicken to begin with. Once this virus takes hold I do hope a responsible party will re-invent the message. First, poultry raised in the U.S. will meet very strict guidelines for insuring it is disease free. Second, just as in salmonella precautions, you must use extreme care in keeping all surfaces disinfected after raw poultry comes into contact with them.

I have a question. When it goes human to human will it then no longer easily infect chickens?

 

[JJackson]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

I have a question. When it goes human to human will it then no longer easily infect chickens?

If it goes pandemic than at that moment in time there is a new virus 'Pandemic H5N1' plus the existing strains of 'Avian H5N1'. The new form will continue to evolve under the selection pressure applied by its new host range and the existing Avian virus will continue to evolve in birds - and could conceivably spawn further pandemics. If it did then the original pandemic form would - hopefully - provide a reasonable level of immunity in those who had already had an H5N1 infection. Regretfully unless we can develop strains of commercial poultry that show a reasonable level of resistance we are likely to continue to be in our current position of having to secure all our domestic poultry from contact with wild birds for the foreseeable future, irrespective of the emergence of a pandemic in humans.

The lack of precision in the questionnaire (and elsewhere) particularly regarding the term 'bird flu' - and whether or not this includes pandemic flu in humans - is the basis of my original post in this thread.

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

Thanks JJ.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

.......I have a question. When it goes human to human will it then no longer easily infect chickens?

I wonder if H5 would do the same as H1N1, which "disappeared" (from humans) for 20 years, then reappeared in an altered form as our current H1N1.

Remember the travel logs with H1N1 active reservoir in domestic swine & fowl, and wild birds during the 20 year "disappearance"?

.

 

[miks1975]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

Hey everybody,

As one of the people who conducted this study I wanted to clear a few things up.
1. We made sure that the people being questioned knew that we were asking them about the current strain of the highly pathogenic avain influenza H5N1 that is circulating around the world.
2. The survey project was funded through a National Integrated Food Safety Initiative grant awarded by the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. See press release http://www.foodpolicyinstitute.org/docs/announcements/Avian_Flu.pdf
3. The primary purpose of the study is to provide recommendations for better risk communication messages regarding AI, when it eventually arrives in the US.
For more information please visit the Food Policy Institute website at www.foodpolicyinstitute.org

 

[Shannon Bennett]

Re: Bird Flu study - american awareness low

Welcome, miks1975!

I read the link provided and see that the message is fairly close to the one I hoped would be made. In most cases I would argue that humanitarian concerns outweigh economic ones. However, in this case I have to say the two are actually one. Education is paramount to our weathering this phenomenon. My only caveat is concern for those who work in the chicken processing industry. Cooks can easily contain any contamination. Those who slaughter and gut the birds may not have the same advantage. I lived in Turlock and Hilmar, California for a while and know what the process is like. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the area, it is one of the primary processing regions for Foster Farms chicken and turkey production.

Posted today on another thread was a research paper showing that far higher levels of antibodies for the virus were found in veterinarians who work for the industry. I now ask myself if any studies have been done on those who work on the farms and in the processing plants? I am not suggesting we shut down either of these operations, but rather if we have gone far enough in ensuring the safety of those who work there? As poultry is a host for the virus, we cannot, as the ostrich was reputed to have done, stick our heads in the sand. I would like to see some studies done on antibody levels in these subjects to see if their levels are elevated. If, as I suspect, they are higher than those of the general population, suggestions for ways to limit future contamination should be made and implemented.

I look forward to any comments. Thanks again for posting!