The United States food regulatory body confirmed this Tuesday that some samples of pasteurized milk distributed in almost all supermarkets in the country have tested positive for inactive fragments of the avian flu virus. This pathology It has been affecting hundreds of dairy cows in the country for several months, according to US media reports.
Federal officials have maintained that the viral particles were detected by highly sensitive laboratory tests. Therefore, they defend that their discovery was due to very residual remains of the flu that could have been completely eliminated during the pasteurization process.
Through a statement, the regulators have sent a message of calm to citizens by clarifying that the pieces do not pose any threat to consumers. “To date, we have not observed any danger that would modify our position that the supply of commercial cow’s milk is safe,” they explained to the media.
Transparent milk and lack of appetite
Farmers began to suspect that something was happening to the cattle when some cows They stopped eating and their milk became thick and transparent. For this reason, veterinarians performed tests and discovered that the milk fluid was full of viruses. Regarding the origin, the health workers observed that the lung samples were not infected, so they suspect that the milking machines were the ones that directly infected the animals’ breasts.
How to collect The New York Times, Some scientists have criticized officials’ response because they believe that the Department of Agriculture has been “too slow” in making public “important data that affects the entire country.” In addition, they have also pointed out that the infection detection processes have not been carried out correctly or efficiently.
The first states were detected bird flu in cows were Texas and Kansas, but since that moment the numbers of infected animals have only grown. This is the first time in history that an avian virus has infected so many mammalian lives and, in particular, that it has affected livestock so severely.
