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Researchers: Bird flu virus survives in frozen duck meat

Infection Control Monitor, July 22, 2005

Further displaying how difficult a disease bird flu is to contain and to kill, Japanese researchers said this week that the virus turned up in processed frozen duck meat shipped from China to Japan for human consumption two years ago, reports the Associated Press.

This is not the first time scientists have found the virus in processed meat, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), but the discovery does illustrate the virus' stranglehold over Asian poultry farms.

WHO insists processed meat poses no risk to consumers as long as proper precautions are taken during preparation, such as washing hands and cooking areas, and cooking the meat thoroughly.

China, which is at the center of the bird flu problem, is currently under pressure to provide more details about the virus found in migratory birds in the province of Qinghai. Chinese officials have refused to allow WHO officials to visit the site of the outbreak.

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