”reports that” Reuters, May 1, Chicago, – The U.S. FDA Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday that tests on additional dairy products have yielded preliminary results indicating that pasteurization inactivates the bird flu virus.
The FDA last week reported that preliminary test findings indicated pasteurization destroys the H5N1 virus in milk and baby formula. This week, the agency disclosed more test results on items, including sour cream and cottage cheese.
Since the disease was initially discovered in late March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has verified bird flu in 36 dairy herds across nine states; however, scientists have stated that the outbreak is probably more widespread due to the discovery of H5N1 particles in roughly 20% of milk samples. A dairy worker in Texas had a positive test result for the virus.
Rosemary Sifford, the chief veterinary officer of the USDA, stated on a call with representatives from the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that the government believes the virus is mostly spreading among cattle through contact with raw milk. The virus is highly concentrated in milk excreted by cows, according to the USDA.
The results of 201 of the 297 retail samples of pasteurized dairy products that the FDA has examined so far are included in the results that were made public on Wednesday.
Donald Prater, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, stated during the call, “It is a pretty good body of results.” “There are probably a few more products that we would look at just so that we make sure that we’ve got a good national sample.”
Researchers are watching for alterations in H5N1 that may indicate the virus is modifying to more easily transmit among people. People who have been into intimate touch with wild birds or poultry have contracted the virus, which can be lethal. It has been on the list of viruses that could cause a pandemic for a long time, so any spread to new mammal species is cause for alarm.
About 100 people who were exposed to bird flu have been tracked by the CDC, according to official Dr. Demeter Daskalakis, and about 25 of those who showed symptoms have been tested. No more positive cases have been discovered as of yet.
The organization discovered that all currently available antiviral flu medications are effective against the H5N1 virus after testing a sample of the virus obtained from the agricultural worker who contracted it. The only symptom that the worker had was pink eye, or conjunctivitis.
Antiviral medications that are now approved include Biocrystal Pharmaceuticals’ (BCRX.O) Rapidan, GSK’s (GSK.L) Relenza, and Roche’s (ROG.S) Xofluza, Tamiflu, and a generic version of the latter.
In order to determine the severity of the disease and the virus’s transmissibility, the CDC stated that it is attempting to cultivate the virus from the afflicted farm worker for use in further laboratory tests.
It stated that there is no extraordinary flu activity in people according to illness monitoring.
Retail ground beef samples are being tested by the USDA, but the results are not yet accessible. According to the department, it is certain that the supply of meat is secure.
The USDA states that the virus appears to first infect wild birds before spreading to dairy cows. Motion the sickness to other herds of cattle, which in turn affected flocks of chickens, according to the organization.
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