Will you continue to eat turkey despite reports swine flu has spread to the birds?

Quote from Suarez, DL in Veterinary Microbiology:---- Although influenza viruses can infect a wide variety of birds and mammals, the natural host of the virus is wild waterfowl, shorebirds, and gulls. When other species of animals, including chickens, turkeys, swine, horses, and humans, are infected with influenza viruses, they are considered aberrant hosts. The distinction between the normal and aberrant host is important when describing virus evolution in the different host groups.

The evolutionary rate of influenza virus in the natural host reservoirs is believed to be slow, while in mammals the rate is much higher. The higher rate of evolution in mammals is thought to be a result of selective pressure on the virus to adapt to an aberrant host species. Chickens and turkey influenza virus isolates have previously and incorrectly been lumped together with wild waterfowl, gull, and shorebird influenza viruses when determining rates of evolutionary change.

For poultry, three recent outbreaks of avian influenza meet these criteria, and the sequences of the hemagglutinin and nonstructural genes were compared. Sequences from all three outbreaks were compared to an avian influenza virus consensus sequence, which at the amino acid level is highly conserved for all the internal viral proteins. The consensus sequence also provides a common point of origin to compare all influenza viruses.

The evolutionary rates determined for all three outbreaks were similar to what is observed in mammals, providing strong evidence of adaptation of influenza to the new host species, chickens and turkeys. ---- end quote.

Yes, This is a common confusion. The flu is not a food born disease at all. It is perfectly safe to eat any animal without concern for whether it's population was affected by the flu.

This is also good news for any cannibals out there, as they won't have to worry about how much the flu spreads among humans. "Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. " says the CDC, about as straightforwardly as one can.

Absolutely, for two reasons: 1) Whenever I eat turkey, I cook it first, which kills not just Flu viruses, but also a lot of nastier things. 2) Swine Flu is, if anything, slightly less unpleasant to get than regular flu. I wouldn't particularly like to catch it, of course, as even though I'm a (relatively!) fit person, it would still involve a week in bed feeling thoroughly miserable, but I think in the UK I'm probably more at risk of harm if I ring NHS Direct and get Tamiflu prescribed by a 16 year old call centre operator.

In fact, I suspect I'd be healthier if I ate more turkey, since it is a tasty low-fat meat.

As far as I know, Swine Flu virus is cannot be transmitted to us from the food we eat. That's why our officials said that it's safe to eat pork even if that influenza virus actually came from pigs. This is the same in the case of the turkey.It is still safe to eat turkey now.

Difinitely yes. (aka bird flu, avian flu) is caused by a type of influenza virus that is hosted by birds, but may infect several species of mammals. It was first identified in Italy in the early 1900s and is now known to exist worldwide.

A strain of the H5N1-type of avian influenza virus that emerged in 1997 has been identified as the most likely source of a future influenza pandemic. Strains of avian influenza virus may infect various types of animals, including birds, pigs, horses, seals, whales and humans. However, wild fowl act as natural asymptomatic carriers, spreading it to more susceptible domestic stocks.

Avian influenza virus spreads in the air and in manure and there is no evidence that the virus can survive in well cooked meat.

Of course I'll still eat turkey. As a previous poster mentioned, swine flu is not transmitted by eating food. It didn't stop me from eating pork before.

Why should it stop me from eating turkey now? And the more pressing point: Even if it was indeed possible to catch swine flu by eating, the odds of doing so are so astronomically against it that worrying about it would just be pointless. I'm not going to change my eating habits over something that might, possibly, perhaps, maybe happen, especially when the only cases that have been reported are sporadic and scattered.

I really wish everyone wouldn't be so freaked out about the swine flu. I understand the need to follow up on stories, but pandemic panics just tend to be just that - panics. This is different, of course, for the Western world than elsewhere, but seriously.

This is just like bird flu before, which was supposed to bring down the global population. And, well, I'm still here. So is most of the world.

Oh no, one more thing to worry about! Yes, it will make me question whether I should eat turkey. I'll definitely ask our Costco, Trader Joe's and the local, neighborhood butcher (yes, we still have one!) where their turkey comes from.

This is the problem with globalization. Other people's tainted food becomes our tainted food (and our tainted economy becoes thier tainted economy).

It won't change how I eat turkey. Well actually, I rarely eat turkey, generally only on Thanksgiving. I eat lots of ham sandwiches instead just because I like ham better I guess.

I've already had the swine flu about a month and a half ago. Also, this fall, I will be getting a vacine. I'm not too worried about the swine flu, its just like the normal flu.

You don't want to get it, but if you do you will recover if you are already in good health.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.