Futurist & Strategist | Food/Sustainability x Geopolitics | Keynote Speaker | Board Member/Adviser | Founder, Cornucopia FutureScapes
The potential #OneHealth and #FoodSecurity impact of the intrepid #H5N1 virus bears close watching by authorities and industry. There are potential implications for wild, farmed, and companion animal health, the risk of animal-human and human-human transmission, and implications for animal product #foodsafety and #foodsecurity. So it is apt that the FAO, World Organisation for Animal Health, and World Health Organization triad are monitoring the situation closely. In the U.S., where infections had been noted in cows, the FDA updated on 25 Apr that 1 in 5 PCR-tested retail milk samples showed viral fragments, but added on 26 Apr that "preliminary results of egg inoculation tests on quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-positive retail milk samples show that #pasteurization is effective in inactivating HPAI. This additional testing did not detect any live, infectious virus. These results reaffirm our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe." [Reference: https://lnkd.in/gH7X4Ni7 ] The FDA has advised "Precautions for Raw Milk" as follows: "The FDA has a long-standing recommendation to consumers not to consume raw milk (milk that has not been pasteurized). Because of the limited information available about the possible transmission of H5N1 virus via raw milk, the FDA continues to recommend that industry does not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk products, including raw milk cheese, made with milk from cows showing symptoms of illness, including those infected with avian influenza viruses or exposed to those infected with avian influenza viruses. Importantly, the FDA has also recommended producers take precautions when discarding milk from affected cows so that the discarded milk does not become a source of further spread. Producers should consult with their state regulatory authorities for specific recommendations or requirements; however, such precautions should include heat treatment, pasteurization or its equivalent, of discarded milk prior to dumping in lagoons or application of waste solids and ensuring biosecurity around lagoons (e.g., ensuring that animals and birds do not have access to lagoons). Any raw milk or raw milk products from exposed cattle that are fed to calves (or to other animals, such as farm cats) should be heat treated or pasteurized." #zoonosis #publichealth
