PM urges worried Turks to eat chicken
By Oleg Shchedrov
The Star, 18 Jan 2006

ANKARA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish consumers on Tuesday it was safe to eat chicken despite an outbreak of bird flu in the country which has killed four children and forced the culling of around a million birds. 

"There is no need to worry about consuming poultry and eggs that have been produced in industrial conditions," Erdogan told a gathering of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). 

"There is no advantage in harming our poultry sector which employs thousands of people. It is very important for Turkey to remain calm," he said. 

Poultry sales have plunged since the latest outbreak of avian flu in Turkey was reported in late December, although experts say chicken and eggs

pose no health threat to human beings if properly cooked. 

Slaughtering and defeathering a diseased bird pose the greatest risk of the virus passing to people. The four dead children and the 16 other people now being treated for the virus in Turkish hospitals all had close contact with sick birds. 

The financial impact of the disease has so far been mainly confined to the poultry sector. However, the Milliyet newspaper said on Tuesday it could eventually cost the country some $3 billion, or one percent of gross national product (GNP). 

The government fears that failure to stamp out the disease quickly could harm tourist industry, a vital source of foreign currency for Turkey as it makes a strong recovery from a financial crisis in 2001. 

"We are taking every kind of measure to reduce the damage incurred from bird flu. We have shared all information with the public and have been transparent," Erdogan said. 

Separately, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday Turkey was trying to improve its culling methods after criticism from several countries in Europe that poultry were not being killed in a sufficiently humane or safe manner. 

Turkish television has shown children using their bare hands to help masked and gloved health workers catch poultry. Many birds have been crammed into sacks and buried alive in lime-filled pits. 

Poisoning with carbon dioxide is the generally approved method for culling large numbers of poultry. Experts say any method must be safe, humane and efficient.