United States: Reports state that raw dairy cheese made from cattle milk with bird flu virus maintains live infectious viruses through the entire production period, according to investigators that receive funding from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at Cornell University.
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Natural milk cheeses come from milk that remains untreated with heat so that pathogens cannot be destroyed. The federal prohibition against raw milk distribution does not apply to raw milk cheese products because the aging process lasts for more than sixty days.
The requirement adopted in 1949 exists to reduce contamination risks by letting enzymes and acids naturally develop, which were believed to eliminate microorganisms, CNN Health reported.
What more has the study suggested?
The latest study demonstrates that the aging H5N1 virus fails to meet inactivation standards while emphasizing the dangers associated with eating uncooked food during bird flu outbreaks that continuously spread among dairy cattle and poultry together with an expanding range of animal species.
In their previous research, the same team of scientists established the H5N1 virus’s ability to maintain infectious properties in refrigerated raw milk for eight weeks.
Dr. Diego Diel asserted that the virus stays stable in milk and cheese because its protective molecular complex surrounds it. But that’s only partly true.
“The protein and fat content in the cheese and milk provide a good environment for the virus to survive at refrigeration temperature,” as per Diel, who is working as an associate professor of virology at Cornell.
Moreover, as per Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, food doesn’t put any risk of bird flu.
“The disease is not passed through food, so you cannot get it – as far as we know, you cannot get it from an egg or milk or meat from an infected animal,” Kennedy stated, as CNN Health reported.
However, as experts suggest, this is partly true. Cats, together with other animals, acquired infections from raw cow milk along with raw pet foods, while scientists failed to identify the original H5N1 virus exposure route of three investigated human patients.
No person has reported becoming ill because of consuming bird-flu-contaminated food or drink despite raw milk, cheese, and unpasteurized dairy products.
However, dairy production workers acquire H5N1 infections when raw milk contacts their face or eyes.
“I do think it is possible. There is a risk of infection,” he added.
“It obviously depends on the dose and how much of that contaminated product is ingested,” the experts continued.