Traces of the chicken flu virus have been present in some samples of pasteurized milk within the U.S. on Tuesday, in keeping with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), because the company advises that the milk is secure to drink till additional testing is carried out.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), avian influenza or chicken flu is a illness “brought on by an infection with avian influenza Type A viruses.” These viruses can even naturally unfold amongst wild aquatic birds worldwide and might infect home poultry and different chicken and animal species.
On Tuesday, the FDA mentioned traces of the virus have been discovered whereas testing samples of pasteurized milk utilizing a testing technique known as PCR testing, which appears for traces of genetic materials. The testing samples discovered inactive remnants of the chicken flu virus, killed in the course of the pasteurization course of.
However, the company suggested {that a} optimistic consequence doesn’t imply {that a} reside, infectious virus has been discovered.
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“Based on available data, pasteurization is prone to inactivate the virus, nevertheless the method will not be anticipated to take away the presence of viral particles. To date, now we have seen nothing that might change our evaluation that the industrial milk provide is secure,” the company mentioned in an announcement.
Newsweek reached out to the FDA through electronic mail for touch upon Tuesday night time.
While the company maintains that the milk is secure to drink, it mentioned it’s nonetheless ready on the outcomes of further research to verify.
The FDA is present process the testing of egg and milk manufacturing to make sure that the provides stay secure from the virus. According to the company, outcomes from a number of ongoing security research will likely be launched within the “subsequent few days to weeks.”
This comes weeks after a optimistic human case of the avian flu was recognized at a Texas dairy farm.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) this month, a human case of avian influenza virus within the state was recognized in somebody who had direct publicity to dairy cattle presumed to be contaminated.
“The affected person, who skilled eye irritation as their solely symptom, is being handled with the antiviral drug oseltamivir,” DSHS mentioned in an announcement.
While it was solely the second human case of H5N1 ever recorded within the nation, there isn’t a present proof to recommend the virus is being unfold amongst people.
However, the case sparked concern concerning the milk provide amongst cows.
Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), beforehand cautioned that avian flu may pose a critical risk, as he wrote in a 2023 Think Global Health column in regards to the concern that it’d grow to be transmissible between people.
“They must do a variety of testing earlier than I might drink milk from certainly one of these farms at this level,” Bright instructed Politico earlier this month.
The FDA beforehand mentioned there’s “no concern in regards to the security of the industrial milk provide” due to pasteurization, which heats milk to a temperature that might kill the virus. In addition to pasteurization killing viruses and micro organism, dairy farms are legally required to solely provide milk from wholesome animals.
The company additionally mentioned it recommends that milk producers take precautions when discarding milk from sick cows to stop it from turning into a supply of unfold.
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Newsweek is dedicated to difficult typical knowledge and discovering connections within the seek for widespread floor.
