In a press release on Friday, the World Health Organization reported that the H5N1 avian influenza virus has been detected in high concentrations in the raw milk of infected mammals.
The report comes a month after the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the first human case of H5N1.
During the press conference in Geneva, Wenqing Zhang, head of the WHO’s global influenza programme, said that the H5N1 virus had been detected in the raw milk of infected mammals.
Wenqing Zhang, head of the WHO’s global influenza programme, said: “Bird-to-cow and cow-to-cow transmissions have been recorded during the current epidemics, suggesting that through cow-to-bird transmission, the virus he may have found other viruses.” transition paths compared to what was previously understood”.
Zhang went on to share that the virus was discovered in “a very high viral concentration in raw” unpasteurized milk.
For Barron:
The H5N1 avian influenza virus strain has been detected in very high concentrations in the raw milk of infected animals, the WHO said on Friday, although it is not known how long the virus can survive in the milk.
Avian influenza A(H5N1) first emerged in 1996, but since 2020 the number of outbreaks among birds has grown exponentially, along with the increase in the number of infected mammals.
The strain has led to the death of tens of millions of poultry, while also infecting wild birds and land and marine mammals.
Cows and goats were added to the list last month – a surprising development for experts because they were not thought to be susceptible to this type of flu.