Do not eat raw eggs or dip cooked food into any sauce containing raw eggs. Eggs should be cooked until the white and yolk become firm. Poultry should be cooked thoroughly. The centre of the poultry should reach 70°C continuously for at least two minutes during cooking. If there are pinkish juices running from the cooked poultry or the middle part of its bone is still red in colour, the poultry should be cooked again until fully done.

In addition to what was said above, do not eat raw or soft-boiled eggs nor utilize them uncooked in food preparations. Cook all poultry thoroughly using a food thermometer to ensure that poultry reaches at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Eggs should be cooked solid throughout. Eggs, hands, knives, cutting boards and all counter tops may be washed with soapy water and sanitized with a solution of one-teaspoon chlorine bleach in a quart of water. http://www.fsis.usda.gov.

There is no evidence that avian influenza can be transmitted through eating poultry or eggs. However, make sure poultry and eggs have been thoroughly cooked.

The H5N1 virus is sensitive to heat. Normal temperatures used for cooking (70oC in all parts of the food) will kill the virus. Consumers need to be sure that all parts of the poultry are fully cooked (no "pink" parts) and that eggs, too, are properly cooked (no "runny" yolks). Consumers should also be aware of the risk of cross-contamination. Juices from raw poultry and poultry products should never be allowed, during food preparation, to touch or mix with items eaten raw.

Yes, eating properly cooked poultry, as well as eggs, is safe. The U.S. government has banned imported poultry from countries affected by bird flu. At the present time, bird flu is not present in the U.S. For protection against many types of food borne diseases, such as Salmonella, all poultry should be cooked to 165? F or hotter. Cooking also destroys flu viruses.

There is no evidence to suggest that you can become infected by eating properly cooked poultry and eggs. Proper handling and cooking of poultry provides protection against this virus, as it does against many viruses and bacteria, including Salmonella and E.coli. Safe food handling and preparation is important at all times.

It is safe to eat properly handled and cooked chicken and other poultry (turkey, ducks, etc.) products. Even if poultry and eggs were to be contaminated with the avian virus, proper cooking would kill it. You should follow these guidelines when cooking poultry:

America's food is among the safest in the world. But bacteria are everywhere, including on food, like meat, poultry, and egg products. If food isn't handled safely, harmful bacteria can multiply to dangerous levels and make people sick. There are four key safe food handling steps promoted under a national educational campaign by the Partnership for Food Safety Education called Fight BAC!®. These steps include: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill. Cook" is one of the key steps.

This does not present a risk. At the present time, the H5N1 strain of bird flu that has spread through poultry farms in southeast Asia and into eastern Europe is not present in the U.S. Even if the H5N1 strain were to appear in the U.S., transmission from birds to people would require close contact with birds, such as handling, butchering or exposure to bird droppings.

There is no evidence that properly cooked poultry or eggs can be a source of infection for avian influenza viruses. For more information about avian influenza and food safety issues, visit the World Health Organization website. The U.S. government carefully controls domestic and imported food products, and in 2004 issued a ban on importation of poultry from countries affected by avian influenza viruses, including the H5N1 strain. This ban still is in place.

To date, transmission from domestic poultry, through contact with infected birds, contaminated surfaces or feces, is the most prevalent way this H5N1 strain of avian flu virus has caused human infection. One single incident of wild bird to human transmission has been recorded as described above.

There is no evidence to date that cats can spread H5N1 to humans. No cases of avian influenza in humans have been linked to exposure to sick cats, and no outbreaks among populations of cats have been reported. All of the influenza A (H5N1) infections in cats reported to date appear to have been associated with outbreaks in domestic or wild birds and acquired through ingestion of raw infected meat.

Female chickens raised to lay eggs on factory farms live their entire lives in wire cages stacked upon one another. They are packed so tightly together that each hen has only a space about the size of a standard sheet of paper, not even enough room to lift her wings. Confined tightly their entire lives, the chickens often lose most of their feathers rubbing against the wire cage walls.

Many of the arguments made for not eating meat are valid with regard to eggs and milk. Factory farming also cruelly treats egg- laying chickens and dairy cows, wastes resources, and pollutes the environment. The vegan diet (non -use of any animal products) is a more humane diet. However, an estimated 90 percent of vegetarians today are lacto- ovo vegetarians. Many hope to become vegans eventually.

First you must decide if you want to make helping people a career or a volunteer activity. If you want a career, prepare yourself by getting at least a masters degree in psychology, counseling, psychiatric nursing, or clinical social work. If you want more training, you could become a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist. The people in your campus academic counseling center can help you arrange the classes you need for these options.