KUALA LUMPUR – The H5N1 bird flu virus strain has been detected in very high concentrations in the raw milk of infected animals, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Experts have yet to ascertain how long the virus survives in the milk of cows and goats, as the animals are not typically susceptible to this disease.
However, the Texas health department said dairies are required to destroy milk from sick cows and that pasteurisation also kills the virus.
A worker on a Texas dairy farm recently recovered from bird flu after being exposed to cattle.
WHO’s head of global influenza programme Zhang Wenqing said the Texas case is the first of a human infected by a cow having avian influenza.
“Bird-to-cow, cow-to-cow and cow-to-bird transmission have also been registered during these current outbreaks, which suggest that the virus may have found other routes of transition than we previously understood,” she told the media in Geneva, Switzerland.
“Now we see multiple herds of cows affected in an increasing number of US states, which shows a further step of the virus spillover to mammals.
“The virus has also been detected in milk from infected animals.
“It is important for people to ensure safe food practices, including consuming only pasteurised milk and milk products.”
The H5N1 virus first emerged in 1996, but since 2020 it has led to the deaths of tens of millions of poultry, as well as wild birds and land and marine mammals. – April 19, 2024