Bird flu virus found in US retail milk — RT World News
Particles of avian influenza have been found in samples of consumer milk in the United States, revealing the extent of the outbreak of the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a report on Tuesday.
The agency wrote that the virus had previously been detected in raw milk, adding that while… 'Pasteurization is likely to inactivate the virus' The process is not expected to completely remove the presence of viral particles.
The FDA's national survey also discovered traces of bird flu in… “Milk from infected animals, in the processing system, and on the shelves.”
“So far, we have not seen anything that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe.” The agency claimed, insisting that if the testing process exists “genetic material” From this virus “It does not mean that the sample contains intact infectious pathogens.”
While the FDA insists there is no real concern about the safety of pasteurized dairy products, other agencies have said products from diseased cows should not be on shelves. “Only milk from healthy animals is permitted to be distributed in interstate commerce for human consumption.” The National Milk Producers Federation wrote on its website.
Meanwhile, the USDA revealed that bird flu had been detected in 33 herds of dairy cows in eight states as of Monday.
Although highly contagious bird flu has been circulating for more than 20 years, its spread to cows is of major concern, The Washington Post wrote on Tuesday.
interest “It is that it is showing up in a much larger number of samples, which means that the infection is more widespread in dairy herds than we thought.” An American public health official told the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
Both the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration have urged consumers to avoid drinking raw milk as the situation develops. Authorities said other results are expected in the coming days and weeks.
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