Live H5N1 avian influenza can survive in meat cooked rare, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has found.
In a study conducted this week, USDA scientists discovered that hamburgers cooked at 120 degrees Fahrenheit – the temperature of a rare steak – contained live traces of a substitute bird flu virus. The agency said that no virus was present in burgers cooked to 145 degrees (medium rare) or 160 degrees (well done).
