Researchers Call For Fresh Chicken Ban
NEW ZEALAND - Otago university researchers are calling for a ban on the sale of fresh chicken in New Zealand, with this country recording the world's highest rates of infection for the campylobactor bacteria.A study from the university's Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences shows human infection rates in New Zealand are three times higher than those reported in Australia, and 30 times higher than in the United States.
The study's lead researcher, Michael Baker, says chicken consumption is responsible for about half of the infections.
He says immediate action is needed to control the infection, which causes diarrhoea, severe stomach cramps, fever and nausea.
Mr Baker says New Zealand should immediately switch to selling frozen chicken only, and the government should seriously consider banning the sale of fresh chicken for human consumption.
However, the Poultry Industry Association says banning the sale of fresh chicken will not solve New Zealand's campylobactor epidemic.
Source: News Wire
9 July 2006
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