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WHO recommends pasteurized milk due to virus in US cow's milk
The World Health Organization (WHO) today recommended that people drink only pasteurized milk after high levels of the H5N1 virus (which causes bird flu) were found in milk from cows in the United States.
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Studies are still being carried out to try to determine how long the virus can survive in milk, which is why the WHO is asking for caution.
"Since the studies are ongoing, it is important that people have safe food practices, including consuming only pasteurized milk," said Wenqing Zhang, who heads the WHO's Global Influenza Programme, during the organization's weekly press conference.
According to the expert, several herds of cows are being affected in an increasing number of US states, which reflects "a new stage in the spread of the virus to mammals".
The health authorities of the State of Texas, where the first case of transmission of the virus between cows and humans was discovered this month, have ruled out any risk to the commercial milk circuit, since the milk from sick animals is obligatorily destroyed.
Pasteurization - a process that consists of sterilizing food, in this case milk, by heating it to a certain temperature and then cooling it rapidly - kills the H5N1 virus.
The common packaged UHT milk sold in supermarkets is ultra-pasteurized.
Human infections with the H5N1 virus are rare and are associated with exposure to animals and contaminated environments.
So far there is no evidence of transmission between humans, but health authorities fear that the high circulation of the virus could facilitate a genetic mutation that allows the virus to pass from one person to another.
Despite the fears, the WHO points out that the virus detected in Texas has not shown signs of increased adaptation in mammals.
According to the World Health Organization, between the beginning of 2023 and April 1, 2024, 889 human cases of bird flu were registered in 23 countries, including 463 deaths, raising the fatality rate to 52%.
Bird flu first appeared in 1996, but since 2020 the number of outbreaks in birds has increased significantly and an increasing number of mammal species have been affected.
In March, cows and goats joined the list, surprising experts, since these animals were not considered susceptible to this type of flu.
Read Also: Nestlé adds sugar to milk formula sold in the poorest countries (Portuguese version)
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