About one in five U.S. commercial milk samples tested positive for traces of bird flu in a nationwide survey in the United States, with a higher proportion coming from areas with infected cow herds, the food and drug regulatory agency said. in that country, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA, its acronym in English).
There is no evidence that the milk poses a danger or that a live virus is present, the US regulator added. The FDA said Thursday that additional testing is needed to determine whether the intact pathogen is still present and whether it remains infectious.
Earlier this week, the FDA said that if milk is heated to a specific temperature, it remains safe for human consumption since the process kills harmful bacteria and viruses.
The health regulatory authority and the US Department of Agriculture have indicated that, based on currently available information, the commercial supply of milk continues to be safe due to the pasteurization process and the diversion or destruction of milk from sick cows.
“To date, studies of retail milk have not shown results that would change our assessment that the commercial supply of milk is safe,” the FDA said in its latest update.
Eight US states have confirmed cases of bird flu in 33 herds of dairy cattle, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Only one person – a Texas farm worker – has been confirmed to have bird flu. The patient suffered from conjunctivitis, an eye irritation that can cause redness and discomfort.
The US health regulator also said that epidemiological signals from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed no increase in human cases and no case of H5N1 beyond the known case.
The FDA is further evaluating any positive results through egg inoculation tests, which it described as the standard for determining whether the virus remains viable.
