The Hindu Business Line : Well-cooked chicken, eggs safe, says Govt

`IT is safe to consume well-cooked chicken and eggs' is the message the Government is trying to send. With panic spreading among consumers on whether or not it is safe to consume poultry products, the Health Ministry is planning to launch an awareness campaign across the country.

Addressing poultry farmers, chicken sellers, handlers and transporters, the advertisement asks people to avoid direct contact with chicken. Instead gloves and other suitable protection must be used. It has said, "Do not touch bird feathers, mucus and droppings." In case of contact, wash the hands immediately with soap or detergent. Further it has asked people to keep birds in enclosures and dispose dead or culled birds properly to control the spread of infection.

Consumers have also been asked to report sick or dead birds to the Animal Husbandry Department immediately. `Hygienic Practices. Healthy Chicken. Safe Humans', it said.

Currently, the presence of the avian influenza virus has been confirmed in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Responding to the issue of movement of infected meat to other parts, Dr N.K. Ganguly, Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said, "We have already quarantined the area and it is unlikely that meat from here could be passed on to other areas. Meat from non-infected areas should be safe."While, the Government has already stockpiled doses of Tamiflu to treat any outbreak of the disease in humans, it is keen that a paediatric version of the drug be developed too. "We will ask the companies supplying the drugs to come up with a syrup for children," said an official.

The official also said that the drug should be administered carefully. The Government has also been cautious in sourcing the drug from Hyderabad-based Hetero Drugs, which has secured a licence from Roche. Internationally the Swiss company has the marketing rights while Gilead Lifesciences holds the patents to the molecule.