Transmission of flu through milk is a concern, warns WHO

Photo: Reproduction/Rehagro.

A World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning about the risk of virus transmission H5N1which causes bird flu, through the consumption of fresh milk. Although the risk of contagion is considered low, the WHO has asked countries to be alert to possible transmission of the virus from animals to humans.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)a health surveillance agency in the United States, found fragments of the bird flu virus in one in five raw milk samples sold in the country. This finding indicates that the level of contagion may be higher than previously believed.

However, both the FDA and WHO have confirmed that the pathogen is destroyed in the pasteurization process. Pasteurization involves heating milk to high temperatures, making the milk pasteurized milk safe for consumption.

The WHO is investigating the virus detected in milk and its possible role in transmission. In the meantime, it is recommended that countries implement infection control measures and reduce human exposure to birds and mammals potentially infected with influenza or other variants of the influenza virus.

In the United States, authorities introduced strict control measures to contain the first known outbreak of H5N1 in dairy cows, which affected 33 herds in eight states. A farmer in Texas was infected but had mild symptoms.

With information from the FDA.