The bird flu virus was found in processed frozen duck meat shipped for human consumption from China to Japan two years ago -- another reminder of how easily the disease can cross borders and how hard it is to kill, health officials said.
In a recent study published online in the journal Virology, a team of Japanese researchers reported a form of the H5N1 virus was found in duck meat exported from China's Shandong Province into Japan in 2003.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday this was not the first time the virus has been found in processed meat, but it stressed the findings illustrate the virus' strength and presence in Asian poultry stocks.
However, the WHO said processed poultry meat poses no risk to consumers as long as precautions are taken during preparation, such as frequently washing hands and countertops and making sure all meat is thoroughly cooked and no blood remains.
"This is an indicator that H5N1 viruses are widespread in Asia in many different kinds of fowl," said Bob Dietz, a spokesman for WHO's Western Pacific Region.
"We know this virus to be a persistent, aggressive survivor. This study is another indicator of that," he said.
The findings come as China is under pressure to provide more information about the virus found in wild birds. The country has not responded to the WHO's requests for information about 6,000 migratory bird deaths in the Qinghai Province or to let experts visit the site of a reported bird flu outbreak near the border with Kazakhstan, said Roy Wadia, a spokesman for WHO's Beijing office.
WHO said the Japanese research suggests the H5N1 virus was circulating among poultry stocks in China when the ducks were processed.
"It is another way in which the virus can spread across boundaries," Dietz said. "It's an indicator that by the time the ducks were slaughtered there is very good reason to believe they had been exposed to the H5N1 virus."
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