The US Department of Agriculture will analyze the national milk supply to assess the impact of the highly pathogenic avian flu affecting livestock across the country. A total of 718 dairy herds, mostly in California, have been affected by the H5N1 strain in the past nine months.
Since last April, almost 60 people have contracted the virus, although with mild symptoms. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consider that the risk posed to human health by bird flu is low, but US authorities want to closely monitor the spread of the virus. virus.
“Since the first detection in livestock (in March of this year), we have worked to quickly and diligently identify the affected herds,” explained the North American Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, in a statement published this Friday.
“Sampling will give farmers and agricultural workers greater confidence in the safety of their animals and the ability to protect themselves, and will put us on the path to quickly control and stop the spread of the virus across the country,” he said. added.
The initiative will begin on December 16, initially being implemented in California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Oregon. Sample collections will be monthly or weekly. Before, the Department of Agriculture will begin a briefing round with animal health officials and state dairy regulators to clarify doubts on the matter.
Officials have previously said the country’s pasteurized milk supply is safe, and that the heating process kills dangerous pathogens. However, American conspiratorial currents have been propagating for months the false benefits of consuming raw milk, a potential transmitter of this virus.
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