AFP, April 28 (Editor Liu Rui) As the bird flu virus H5N1 continues to rage in the US, in addition to poultry and eggs, milk has also become a source of concern for American consumers.

Recently, nine states in the US have reported that dairy herds are infected with the bird flu virus. However, the latest tests showed that one-fifth of the milk samples sold in the US contained bird flu virus particles. This indicates that the spread of bird flu in the US may be more widespread than previously thought. US lawmakers have urged the Biden administration to further control the spread of the virus.

However, the US FDA still said that although virus residues are found in milk, this milk does not pose a risk to human health, because milk is pasteurized to inactivate pathogens before being put on the market, and this process can inactivate the avian influenza virus.

Avian influenza virus particles found in 1/5 of American milk

As bird flu is raging in the US, dairy cows in as many as nine US states have been found to be infected with the bird flu virus since March, and the milk they produce also appears to be contaminated.

On April 16 of this year, there were reports in the US that the bird flu virus was found in the raw milk of infected cows.

On Wednesday (April 24) EST, US officials confirmed at a media briefing that the genomic material of the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus was indeed detected in milk sold in stores.

On Thursday (April 25) EST, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that in a nationwide survey, it was discovered that up to one-fifth of commercial milk samples in the US contained H5N1 virus particles.

The FDA did not say how many dairy products it has tested, but added that it plans to test 297 more products from 38 states.

The spread of infection may be wider than expected

Currently, the bird flu virus has been detected in dairy herds in 9 states in the US, and a Texas farm worker has been confirmed to be infected with bird flu.

Dr. Michael Osterholm (Michael Osterholm), an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, said, “The FDA test results show that the bird flu virus has infected dairy cows on a large scale across the country.”

She believes that the US should conduct more sample surveys on dairy cows, beef cows, and pigs.

“I'm not worried about the milk itself,” said Samuel Alcaine (Samuel Alcaine), an associate professor of food science at Cornell University, “but it does show that the virus is spreading more widely in dairy farms than we previously thought.”

Evolutionary virologist Louise Moncla (Louise Moncla), an evolutionary virologist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, also believes that the genetic diversity of the virus infecting cows is surprisingly high, indicating that the virus has evolved for several months, and that it may have been infected in herds much earlier than it was discovered.

Pasteurization can inactivate the bird flu virus

On Friday EST, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) health officials said that further tests on milk showed that pasteurization can kill the bird flu virus in milk and infant formula.

“According to available information, the pasteurization process should inactivate the virus, but the virus particles are not expected to be eliminated,” the FDA said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization both said that the overall public health risk caused by avian influenza is still very low, but people who have been in contact with infected animals face a higher risk.

US lawmakers call for stronger controls

Currently, a number of US congressmen have urged the Biden administration to further increase control over the bird flu virus.

“It's critical to contain it before it spreads among humans.” Republican Senator Mitt Romney (Mitt Romney) said in a post on X that “considering the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government's response is insufficient.”

Currently, some lawmakers, including Romney, have initiated bipartisan cooperation to re-authorize the Pandemic and All Hazards Prevention Act, which expired last year. The bill aims to strengthen America's response to pandemics and other public health threats.

US Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin (Tammy Baldwin) also urged the US Department of Agriculture to “quickly deploy additional resources in states where there is an opportunity to prevent disease from entering herds.” He is from Wisconsin, an important dairy state in the US, and no cases of infection have been reported so far.

The White House said it is monitoring the bird flu situation and has set up an “immediate response team” to ensure the safety of the country's food supply and monitor trends to mitigate risks and prevent the spread of the virus. Starting Monday EST, the US Department of Agriculture will require dairy cows to be tested for bird flu before they are transferred across states.