Bird Flu Virus Remnants Found In Milk – Forbes

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The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that samples of pasteurized milk from around the U.S. tested positive for remnants of the H5N1 bird flua finding that comes about a month after the infection began spreading in dairy cows across multiple states, though the agency says the U.S. milk supply remains safe.

99% of the commercial milk supply that is produced on dairy farms in the U.S. comes from farms ... [+] following the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The FDA said the remnants of the virus found in the milk poses no threat to consumers, noting the pasteurization process kills or inactivates harmful bacteria and viruses by heating milk to a certain temperature for a specific amount of time.

The FDA and Department of Agriculture also said the U.S.s milk supply is safe because of the diversion or destruction of milk from sick cows.

Though the positive samples are not an immediate cause of concern for humans, the development does indicate the bird flu outbreak among dairy cows is likely persisting.

Cases of the bird flu have been found in domestic livestock in Idaho, New Mexico, Texas, South Dakota, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina, according to USDA data.

The FDA has been testing milk from store shelves, milk processing systems and affected animals and is conducting a large sample to better understand its current findings.

The FDA is assessing bird flu positive findings through egg inoculation tests, which it calls the gold-standard for determining viable virus. Findings from multiple studies on commercial milk and the bird flu will be published in the next few days to weeks.

To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe, the FDA said in a statement.

Though there is no evidence of the bird flu passing between humans yet, Jeremy Farrar, chief scientist for the World Health Organization, said last week there is an increasing threat of human-to-human bird flu transmission. The WHO reported 888 human cases of bird flu infection between January 2003 and March 28, 202452% of the cases were fatal.

Though pasteurization kills harmful viruses, it is not expected to remove the presence of all viral particles, according to the FDA, which is why some of its samples indicated the presence of the bird flu in milk. Wild migratory birds are believed to be the source of the H5N1 flu. Though cases among humans in direct contact with infected animals is possible, the CDC has said the current risk to the public is low. A milk recall is also unlikely, according to the CDC, which said in a statement last week there were no bird flu detections in commercial beef herds. Two Americans have so far contracted the bird flu, with a person in Texas testing positive early this month and another in Colorado testing positive in 2022. The person in Texas reported pink eye as their only symptom and the Colorado resident reported fatigue for a few days before making a recovery, according to the CDC.

WHO Warns Threat Of Bird Flu Spreading To Humans Is Great Concern (Forbes)

Fragments of Bird Flu Virus Discovered in Milk (New York Times)

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Bird Flu Virus Remnants Found In Milk - Forbes