The discovery of bird flu at two Victorian duck farms is not a food safety risk and chicken products are still safe to eat, the peak body for Australia's chicken industry says.
At least 10,000 ducks will have to be destroyed to contain the outbreak.But the virus found in birds on the two properties is a low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) and not the deadlier form of the virus that spread through Asia, threatening humans and leading to a mass cull of poultry.
The Australian Chicken Meat Federation said although no chicken farms had been affected, the strain involved did pose a potential risk to chickens.
The federation's executive director Andreas Dubs said the outbreak was not a public health or food safety risk.
Cooked chicken and chicken meat products are still safe to eat, he said.
"This is not the strain of avian influenza that has caused human infections overseas," Mr Dubs said in a statement.
"The Australian government, working with industry, has successfully eradicated five outbreaks of avian influenza in the past."
Dr Andrew Cameron, the state's chief veterinary officer, said authorities acted quickly to quarantine the two properties run by a company north of Melbourne to remove any chance the virus could spread.
"This is all about making sure that the virus doesn't one day in the future evolve and mutate into a more serious form," he told reporters on Friday.
The source of the latest outbreak has not been confirmed, but officials believe the virus could have been introduced from wild waterfowl known to harbour influenza viruses.
The Department of Primary Industries will work with the farm owner to dispose of all the ducks and disinfect the farms, he said. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8410018
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