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last yr.

Bird Flu Detected in U.S. Dairy Cows and Pasteurized Milk, Prompting Surveillance Concerns

Genetic data from infected cows reveals the virus has been circulating since last year, raising questions about the effectiveness of U.S. pathogen surveillance systems.

A customer takes a gallon of milk from a store shelf in Salt Lake City,
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Lohmann Brown chickens stand inside a barn at Meadow Haven Farm, a certified organic family run farm, in Sheffield, Ill., on Aug. 4, 2015.

Overview

  • Bird flu, specifically the H5N1 strain, has been identified in 36 dairy herds across eight U.S. states, with genetic analysis suggesting it has been circulating since late 2023.
  • The virus has also been found in pasteurized milk, although the FDA assures that the commercial milk supply remains safe due to the pasteurization process.
  • U.S. health officials are under scrutiny for delayed and incomplete data sharing, hindering efforts to fully understand the virus's transmission and evolution.
  • There is concern about the virus potentially infecting pigs, which could facilitate a spillover into humans due to pigs' role as mixing vessels for influenza.
  • Efforts to modernize and integrate animal and human health surveillance are deemed crucial to better manage and mitigate the spread of such pathogens.