Public health officials in the western US state of California confirmed that the bird flu virus was detected in a retail sample of raw milk produced by a local dairy farm.
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department, which has been testing raw milk from local retailers as part of a monitoring program for H5N1 avian influenza, said in a news release on Sunday that the County's public health laboratory identified the H5 virus in samples of raw milk produced by Raw Farm LLC on November 21.
The County immediately notified the California Department of Public Health, said the news release, adding that the raw milk was voluntarily recalled by the company and the state has advised the public to not consume the contaminated raw milk.
Public health officials in California have confirmed that the bird flu virus was found in a retail sample of raw milk from a local dairy, Raw Farm LLC.
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department, which has been testing raw milk from local retailers as part of its H5N1 avian influenza monitoring program, reported on Sunday that the H5 virus was detected in samples produced by Raw Farm LLC on November 21. The County immediately informed the California Department of Public Health.
The dairy voluntarily recalled the contaminated milk, and state officials are advising the public not to consume it.
On Sunday, the California Department of Public Health issued a warning advising the public to avoid consuming a batch of cream top and whole raw milk produced and packaged by Raw Farm LLC of Fresno County, according to Xinhua news agency.
The department clarified that no illnesses have been linked to this particular batch of raw milk. Public health officials are urging customers to return any remaining product to the retailer and are notifying stores to remove the affected milk from their shelves.
H5 bird flu, which is widespread in wild birds globally, has been causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported several recent human cases among U.S. dairy and poultry workers. On Friday, the CDC confirmed a human infection with H5N1 bird flu in a child in California, marking the first reported case of avian influenza in a child in the United States.
So far, there have been 55 reported human cases of H5 bird flu in the U.S. in 2024, with 29 of those cases in California, according to CDC data.
While the CDC's risk assessment for the general public remains low, individuals with direct exposure to infected animals, such as birds or dairy cattle, or environments contaminated by infected animals, are at higher risk of infection.
No comments:
Post a Comment