Traces of bird flu virus found in 1 in 5 pasteurized milk samples: FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found that about 1 in 5 samples of milk sold at retail contains traces of highly contagious bird flu, although these findings may not be indicative of an infectious risk to consumers.

In an update published this week, the FDA shared some findings from its nationally representative commercial milk sampling study.

“The agency continues to analyze this information; however, initial results show that about 1 in 5 of retail samples tested are quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) positive for [Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza] viral fragments, with a higher proportion of positive results coming from milk in areas with infected herds”, states the update.

The FDA noted that additional testing will be needed to determine whether intact pathogens are actually present in milk and whether consumption of these products poses a risk of infection.

“To date, studies of retail milk have not shown results that would change our assessment that the commercial supply of milk is safe,” the agency shared, citing the pasteurization process that retail milk goes through, as well as the diversion and destruction of milk from infected cows. .

The agency also reiterated its long-standing warning against consuming raw milk.

Earlier this year, a dairy farm worker was confirmed to be infected with a highly infectious strain of bird flu in Texas. The individual worked close to cows infected with the H5N1 strain.

According to William Schaffner, a professor in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, pasteurization should kill the virus, and people generally shouldn’t worry too much about buying milk at the supermarket.

“The bird flu virus can acquire the ability to spread easily from person to person. This is a rare event, every 15 years or so. There is no indication that the current bird flu virus contracted this, but it is out there,” Schaffner told The Hill.

He emphasized that although bird flu infections are rare in the US, it is not a new virus. And it’s even rarer for someone infected by livestock to end up transmitting the virus to someone else.