INDIANAPOLIS — The Hoosier State is one of the country’s largest egg producers. As bird flu continues to strike poultry flocks nationwide, some shoppers are raising questions about the safety of eating eggs.
“Our poultry supply is safe. The meat and eggs you have at the grocery store are not contaminated with highly pathogenic avian influenza,” Denise Derrer Spears, the Public Information Director for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, said.
She told WRTV there is a thorough testing process eggs and meat go through before they can even hit store shelves.
“Testing is done frequently on commercial flocks so that they have a disease-free status,” she said.
If they don’t pass those tests, they don’t make it to grocery stores.
“We place a quarantine on the flock where the detection is, and we also draw a 10-kilometer circle around that facility, and all of the flocks in that area are under quarantine and have to regularly test before they can ship any birds or any eggs, any products that go to market,” Derrer Spears explained.
The CDC has confirmed 68 total reported human cases of avian influenza in the United States and one related death.
Most of which have been associated with farm workers or those responding to detection.
So far, no cases have been detected in Indiana, but infectious disease experts still urging caution.
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“This is probably not a good time to be putting raw eggs in your smoothies. This is not a good time to be drinking raw milk. I would encourage people to use pasteurized milk,” Dr. Robert Hopkins, Jr., the Medical Director for the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases, said.
Dr. Hopkins Jr. also urged people to cook their eggs and meats at appropriate temperatures to help eliminate viable viruses and to avoid giving a raw diet to your pets as they can contract the disease too.
There are also preventative measures Hoosiers can take.
“If you have backyard flocks, make sure that you're paying attention to your birds. If you have sick birds, you want to get those birds away from your healthy birds as quickly as you can,” Dr. Hopkins explained. “If you can, wear personal protective equipment.”
Experts also told WRTV that at this time the virus is still considered very low risk to humans.
So far, there have not been any cases of human-to-human transmission of the virus.
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If you do suspect your animals — whether that be chickens or cattle — may be infected, reach out to the Indiana Board of Animal Health via the Healthy Birds Hotline at 866-536-7593 or the agency’s online reporting form to help determine if you qualify for free testing.
If you also see dead wildlife, you can report it to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Experts also urge everyone to keep their pets away from wildlife if they can.
