Can you please weigh in on bird flu in our food supply? Do I need to worry about milk, meat, etc.? My children especially love milk, and I’m concerned! Does the type of milk matter? Ultra-filtered, organic, or just milk?
—Anonymous
The background on this question is the current outbreak of bird flu — a particular strain of influenza (H5N1) — in dairy cows. We always worry when viruses move between species, especially into mammals, because of the possibility that the virus could move into us. H5N1 is a virulent flu strain, so this is a particular concern.
However: thus far, there is no reason for panic. There is only one confirmed human case (a dairy worker). This might be an undercount, but if the virus was spreading between people at all, we would know by now, since it has been months.
People have been concerned about the possibility of flu virus spreading through milk. The FDA is also concerned about this and has been monitoring. The milk that most of us buy in stores is pasteurized, meaning it is treated to avoid contamination. The FDA has found evidence of viral fragments in milk but — very importantly — no evidence of any live virus. FDA scientists tried to grow virus from milk and were not able to. This is excellent evidence that pasteurization is doing what it needs to.
If you are buying pasteurized milk, any version of it is fine: organic, non-organic — they all run through the same process.
There is more concern if you are buying raw milk, although there is no evidence that bird flu has spread through this channel. The lack of pasteurization, however, makes this milk more risky for disease transmission in general. In most states you could only get this through a farmer; in the few where it’s more widely available it is labeled.
I’m a fan of Your Local Epidemiologist for keeping up with viruses.
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