As federal agencies and state partners continue investigating outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) — more commonly referred to as bird flu — the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it discovered fragments of the virus in some samples of milk.
In an update from the FDA, the agency said it tested milk samples by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and found the presence of fragments of the virus, which is not the same as infectious virus and currently poses no increased risk to human health.
“Based on available information, pasteurization is likely to inactivate the virus, however the process is not expected to remove the presence of viral particles,” the FDA said.
“At this point, when you look for something in public health, science and medicine, your chances of finding it go up,” ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said.
Citing a senior official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ashton said, “the overall risk to the general American population is low, particularly from dairy cows, however, ‘they are taking this very seriously.'”
Importantly, the FDA stated, “we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe” and expect new results from multiple studies “in the next few days to weeks.”
