FAccording to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), fragments of the bird flu virus have been found in about one-fifth of commercial milk samples tested in a nationally representative U.S. study.
While the presence of traces of the virus in milk does not necessarily indicate a risk to consumers, more testing is needed to confirm whether the intact pathogen is present and remains infectious, the FDA said in a statement in its website. That would determine “whether there is any risk of disease associated with consumption of the product,” he added.
The study’s initial results offer a strong indication of how quickly a virus that has killed millions of birds around the world is spreading among U.S. dairy cows, raising health and safety concerns. food and at the same time scary. markets.
Read more: Is it safe to eat eggs and chicken during the bird flu outbreak?
The FDA said there is a higher proportion of positive tests coming from milk in areas with infected herds. The US Department of Agriculture has confirmed 33 herds infected in eight states, including Texas, Kansas, Michigan and Ohio. On Wednesday, the USDA implemented the mandate evidence of dairy cows crossing state lines as part of efforts to understand the scope of the outbreak and contain the virus.
Authorities have reaffirmed that the risk to humans remains low. So far this year, the United States has only identified one infected person and there has been no human-to-human transmission. The person who had direct contact with contaminated livestock experienced only minor symptoms and was treated with Tamiflu.
“To date, studies of retail milk have not shown results that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the FDA said.