Bird Flu Virus Found In Grocery Store Milk: Should MA Consumers Worry?

MASSACHUSETTS — The discovery of particles of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in milk sold at grocery stores shouldn’t cause panic for Massachusetts consumers, according to federal health officials who believe the milk is safe to drink.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in an update Tuesday the particles discovered in highly sensitive lab tests were likely remnants of viruses killed in the pasteurization process. Also, the agency said, milk from sick and infected cows has been diverted from the nation’s milk supply.

Although 99 percent of the commercial milk supply is pasteurized and believed safe, the FDA had extra caution for people in Massachusetts who drink raw, unpasteurized milk.

The agency, which has long opposed raw milk, said that due to limited information about the possible transmission of H5N1 virus in raw milk, it continues to recommend that the industry not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk products from cows showing symptoms of avian flu or any other illness.

The highly pathogenic outbreak of bird flu has now been confirmed in dairy cattle in eight states: 12 herds in Texas, six each in New Mexico and Michigan, four in Kansas, two in Idaho, and one each in Ohio, North Carolina and South Dakota.

The FDA said it’s unlikely the particles would cause infections in people, but that it is conducting additional testing to make sure. One person in Texas has contracted an H5N1 case related to the outbreak in dairy cattle, the CDC said on April 1. The person was the second in the United States to test positive for the bird flu virus, with a previous case occurring in Colorado linked to bird flu in poultry.

“To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the agency said. “Results from multiple studies will be made available in the next few days to weeks.”

Researchers don’t know how the highly virulent virus spreads between animals. Since the current multistate outbreak of bird flu began, millions of chickens and turkeys have been euthanized.

CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen told The Associated Press the agency has long been monitoring the spread of H5N1, but “the fact that it is in cattle now definitely raises our concern level.”

That means farmworkers who work with cattle — and not just those working with birds — may need to take precautions, she said.

The good news is that “it’s not a new strain of the virus,” Cohen added. “This is known to us and we’ve been studying it, and frankly, we’ve been preparing for avian flu for 20 years.”