WASHINGTON, United States: U.S. health officials said Friday that milk sold in U.S. stores is “safe” against bird flu because pasteurization effectively kills deceases after the infection spreads among cattle herds.
An outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has spread to dairy herds across the country, infecting one human but with mild symptoms.
On Thursday, the FDA reported that preliminary results from a nationally representative sampling of commercial milk samples showed that 1 in 5 retail milk samples tested positive for viral fragments, with higher rates in areas where herds are infected.
The FDA said earlier this week that the virus is unlikely to pose a health risk through milk because of the pasteurization process. However, he said additional tests are needed.
The FDA said in a press release Friday that preliminary results showed that “pasteurization is effective in inactivating HPAI.”
Bird flu has previously been detected in raw milk, and health officials have long advised against consuming raw milk.
Millions of chickens died during this wave due to the H5N1 HPAI strain, but infected cattle did not become seriously ill.
The FDA said Friday that data from US health officials continues to show no increase in human influenza cases, and specifically no increase in H5N1 cases beyond one known case.
Although there is currently no evidence that bird flu can be transmitted from person to person, scientists are concerned that mutations in the virus could allow it to spread from person to person.
