Medically reviewed by Medicine.com.
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, Might 1, 2024 — Individuals consuming uncooked unpasteurized milk are in danger for probably contracting chook flu, the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration warned Wednesday.
“We proceed to strongly advise in opposition to the consumption of uncooked milk,” Dr. Donald Prater, appearing director of the FDA’s Heart for Meals Security and Utilized Diet, stated throughout a Wednesday media briefing, the New York Occasions reported.
Almost all dairy milk bought in shops is pasteurized, and the FDA says this course of seems to kill off the chook flu virus often called H5N1.
“The FDA and USDA have indicated that primarily based on the data we at the moment have, our industrial milk provide is secure due to each the pasteurization course of and that milk from sick cows is being diverted or destroyed,” says an FDA Q&A web site about milk security throughout chook flu outbreaks.
Federal officers proceed to emphasize that the chook flu poses a low threat to the general public at the moment, primarily based on this and different knowledge.
However uncooked milk and uncooked milk cheese can harbor germs that pose critical well being dangers to shoppers, together with avian flu, the company added.
There have been 202 outbreaks linked to consuming uncooked milk between 1998 and 2018, leading to 2,645 diseases and 228 hospitalization, in keeping with U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention knowledge cited by the FDA.
Even in the very best of instances, uncooked milk “is among the one of many riskiest meals that we have now,” Benjamin Chapman, a professor and meals security specialist at North Carolina State College, advised the Occasions.
Testing has discovered a “excessive viral load” in uncooked cow’s milk, Dr. Rosemary Sifford, deputy administrator of veterinary providers on the Division of Agriculture, stated throughout the media briefing.
Additional, officers imagine the primary manner the chook flu virus is spreading between cows is thru contact with milk, Sifford added.
It’s not clear whether or not uncooked milk can unfold chook flu to people, however researchers are persevering with to trace this, Prater stated.
“There’s not an amazing quantity of research displaying the infectivity associated to this virus and uncooked milk merchandise,” Prater stated.
The U.S. Division of Agriculture has confirmed instances of chook flu in dairy cows in 9 states.
Sources
- U.S. Meals and Drug Administration, information launch
- New York Occasions
Disclaimer: Statistical knowledge in medical articles present common developments and don’t pertain to people. Particular person components can differ enormously. All the time search personalised medical recommendation for particular person healthcare selections.
© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted Might 2024
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