Dr. Chibitam Hope Obia
General Practitioner
The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.
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Patient's Query
Hi doctor,
I live near farms where they raise turkeys and chickens. I live with my family, and my grandmother is in her 80s, and my youngest son is just six years old. As the cloud of avian flu is looming, I want to know what precautions we can take for our family. Is red meat consumption safe? Can we just skip the chicken? Also, it is Thanksgiving, and we just baked a turkey and had a family Thanksgiving meal. Should I be worried about my family getting the flu? Will the meat be safe after a long cooking time? Please help.
Thank you.
Hello,
Welcome to icliniq.com.
I have read your query, and I can understand your concern.
I am very sorry about your medical condition. I am here to take care of you. Regarding your experience with the avian flu endemic outbreak affecting chicken and birds in your county, I will suggest you and your family should receive the HVT (Herpes virus of turkeys) -H5 vaccine (recombinant hemagglutinin), which has 100 percent effective prevention against avian flu. Therefore, your family need not be worried about any infection. Also, you asked if you can skip the chicken, and my answer is no; as long as you are immunized, you will not be infected, and please do not eat red meat, as it causes cardiovascular illness. Cooking for a long time does not kill the virus responsible for the avian flu symptoms, but heat can kill bacteria.
I hope this will help you.
Thank you.
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General Practitioner
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