Bird flu in raw milk? Experts warn against unpasteurized dairy products

Pasteurization is moving to termination disconnected vertebrate flu successful milk, according to tests tally by the Food and Drug Administration — but what astir unpasteurized dairy products for illustration earthy milk? Experts counsel to enactment away, particularly pinch nan caller avian influenza outbreak affecting increasing numbers of poultry and dairy cows. 

"Do not devour unpasteurized dairy products," Dr. Nidhi Kumar told CBS New York. "I cognize location are group that are existent advocates for it, but this is not nan clip to do it."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls earthy beverage "one of nan riskiest foods."

"Raw beverage is beverage that has not been pasteurized to termination harmful bacteria," nan wellness agency's website explains. "Raw beverage tin beryllium contaminated pinch harmful germs that tin make you very sick." The CDC says earthy beverage tin origin a number of different foodborne illnesses, and group mightiness acquisition days of diarrhea, tummy cramping and vomiting.

"It's not conscionable astir vertebrate flu, it's astir salmonella, E. coli (and much pathogens)," says Donal Bisanzio, elder epidemiologist astatine nonprofit investigation institute RTI International. "A batch of group they deliberation nan pasteurization tin reduce, for example, nan value of nan milk, but nary 1 really has shown thing for illustration that. ... You tin person each nan nutrients from nan (pasteurized) milk."

Bisanzio says only astir 1% of group successful nan U.S. portion earthy milk.

It is not yet known if nan vertebrate flu microorganism tin walk done earthy beverage to humans, Bisanzio says — but if it can, he expects symptoms to beryllium akin to different modes of contraction. 

"(If) nan magnitude of microorganism successful nan earthy beverage is capable to infect a quality being, you're going to expect nan aforesaid benignant of symptoms — flu-like symptoms for illustration fever, nausea — that you tin find successful group that are affected by an infection done different different routes."

The FDA's findings for pasteurized beverage travel aft nan agency disclosed that astir 1 successful 5 samples of unit milk it had surveyed from astir nan state had tested affirmative for highly pathogenic avian influenza, aliases HPAI H5N1. The further testing detected nary live, infectious virus, reaffirming nan FDA's appraisal that nan "commercial beverage proviso is safe," nan agency said successful a statement.

-Alexander Tin contributed to this report.

In:
• Bird Flu