bird flu has already become a serious problem for World Health Organization. Despite its name, it is no longer just about birds. Cases of the disease have been found in mammals around the world, both farmed, domestic and wild. The situation with livestock is of particular concern, since currently Food and Drug Administration (FDA) The US discovered the presence of the virus in Cow’s milk sold in this country.
The good part is that since it is pasteurized milk, only inactive viral particles were detected. This means that milk consumption is safe and it is not possible to contract bird flu through it.
In any case, it is important to know this news, because there are still people who think that raw milkunpasteurized is healthier. We have seen many times that natural is not always healthier. This is a good example of this as drinking unprocessed milk can lead to the spread of diseases such as brucellosis or listeriosis. Now we know that bird flu can be added to this list. Regardless of how many cases have been identified in the United States, it is not worth the risk of drinking raw milk in other countries. Considering the pandemic we’ve been through, we should have learned something about this by now.
Avian influenza and zoonoses
Several cases of bird flu in humans have already been identified around the world. This is a fairly serious disease that occurs in approximately 50% mortality. Fortunately, the virus does not yet appear to be able to spread from one person to another.
The identified infections occurred in people who had contact with infected animals. For example, regarding milk, the FDA reported that cases of avian influenza have been reported in 33 herds of cows from 8 different states and that only one worker on these farms contracted the infection. Fortunately, in his case the disease was mild and healed without problems.
Every time the virus infects a new animal, makes copies of itself in your cells. Mistakes may be made in this process, which in some cases will be neutral, in other cases beneficial to him, and in other cases counterproductive. One of these mistakes could allow the virus to spread between people. If this happens, a new pandemic may arise.
It is therefore important that infections are kept to a minimum in both animals and humans. One way to minimize these cases is to look at animal products that may contain the virus.
The Case of Milk
One such animal product is milk. The H5N1 virus that causes avian influenza is heat sensitive. It does not withstand heat well, so the pasteurization process will kill it, as well as the vast majority of microorganisms present in this drink.
Therefore, although they were discovered viral particles in milk samples from around the country they are no longer infectious.
In any case, the FDA reminded that avian influenza infections in mammals, such as cows, recently. This means that it is completely unknown how they may affect the products coming from them. Just as milk was studied, other similar products should continue to be analyzed to see if they pose a risk to humans.
Any precaution is too little, and in this case it is a simple precaution. It’s as simple as not drinking raw milk. Hemlock is also natural, and it’s normal that we don’t want to try it.
Source: Hiper Textual
