Evaluation of the inactivation of avian influenza virus in duck meat through electron beam irradiation

The global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) among poultry, wild birds, and mammals has increased the risk of infection in felines, including domestic and stray cats. Wild felids are particularly susceptible to H5N1 HPAI virus infection because they may consume the carcasses of infected birds. Fatalities associated with the consumption of raw pet foods prepared from poultry meat have been reported in both the United States and Korea. Given that high titers of avian influenza (AI) viruses have been detected in poultry meat, effective sterilization methods are essential to ensure the safety of raw pet food products. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of electron beam (E-beam) irradiation—an established method for inactivating hazardous microorganisms in raw pet food—against duck meat experimentally contaminated with avian influenza (AI) virus. Shredded duck breast meat was inoculated with the low-pathogenic H5 subtype avian influenza virus A/Geese/Korea/H277/2022 (H5N3) and subjected to E-beam irradiation at doses ranging from 0 to 40 kGy. The D 10 values calculated based on the nominal irradiation dose and the actual absorbed dose were 2.58 and 2.34, respectively. Based on the absorbed-dose D 10 value, duck meat containing a high viral load (approximately 10 7.6 EID₅₀/g in the mock-irradiated control) was estimated to require approximately 17.63 kGy for complete viral inactivation.