Experts Warn 10 Percent may be Contaminated With Deadly Virus

Health experts are warning that over 10 percent of sausages could be contaminated with a potentially deadly virus as Britain deals with a rising number of hepatitis E cases. The number of cases rose by 40 percent in a year with the number of people suffering from the infection after eating contaminated pork rising 657 cases in 2012.

While in most of the cases, the virus causes mild sickness, a temperature and muscle pain, it can be fatal in the elderly, cancer victims, pregnant women and others with existing liver problems with one in 50 of the infected dying.

Recommending that people should cook the sausages properly before eating, Royal Cornwall Hospital’s Dr Harry Dalton said, “This is emerging as a serious problem. About 85 per cent of British pigs carry the virus, which is quite hardy. Sausages have to be cooked at 70C for 20 minutes to kill it and that is longer than most sausages ever get cooked”, he said.


Source-Medindia