According to The Hill, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared on Tuesday that it had found evidence of bird flu viruses in certain pasteurized milk samples, as the epidemic spreads throughout cattle and avian populations in the US.
The FDA did, however, add that humans are not at risk from the virus in that form.
The FDA expanded testing of domestic milk supply in response to a possible avian flu threat to the world and discovered dormant virus remains in some testing samples.
The government claimed that the pasteurization process eliminated these bird flu particles.
“To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the Food and Drug Administration said.
In order to guarantee that the production of eggs and milk is safe from the virus, the agency is testing these products thoroughly; the findings of continuing safety investigations should be available soon.
Dairy cows in the states of Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and South Dakota have tested positive for the virus, which is also known as Type A H5N1.
There have only ever been two cases of bird flu in the United States; the other was a dairy worker in Texas earlier this month, but he recovered with only mild symptoms.