FDA Report Finds Traces Of Bird Flu Were In Commercial Milk Supply Samples

A new report from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found traces of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercially sold pasteurized milk.

According to the report, which was published on Thursday, one in five samples of commercially sold pasteurized milk contained viral fragments of H5N1, a virus known as “bird flu” that researchers say typically infects birds, poultry and animal species. The fragments in the milk were not live or infectious, NBC News reported .

The report found that a large number of the milk samples containing traces of bird flu came from areas that had cows infected by the virus.

But the agency said that commercial milk is still safe because of the pasteurization process, which kills bacteria, and the destruction of milk from cows infected with the virus, which are two federal and state measures taken to ensure milk safety for consumers.

“Even if [the] virus is detected in raw milk, pasteurization is generally expected to eliminate pathogens to a level that does not pose a risk to consumer health,” the FDA said .

The H5N1 bird flu is not a new virus. According to the World Health Organization, the virus was first found in humans in 1997 in Hong Kong. But researchers say that the virus has primarily infected birds on poultry farms.

Since 2022, more than 58 million domestic birds like chickens, ducks and turkeys in the United States have died from H5N1.

Scientists have also found that other mammals have been infected by the virus. In October 2022, a mink fur farm in Spain had an outbreak of the virus, indicating to researchers the potential for mammal to mammal transmission , as well as transmission to humans.

Between 2003 and 2016, more than 800 people were infected with H5N1,