May 17, 2024

Canada confirms no H5N1 bird flu in commercial milk samples

Canadian government officials announced that samples of commercially sold milk have shown "no evidence" of H5N1 bird flu, following enhanced testing aimed at addressing Canadians' concerns after the virus was detected in some US dairy cattle, Reuters reported.

Dairy cattle in nine US states have been found to carry the virus, prompting warnings to dairy workers. Despite these findings, the threat to the general population remains low.

Earlier this month, Canadian inspectors tightened import requirements on US breeding cattle following the first confirmed case of the H5N1 virus in a US dairy herd in March. Additionally, the identification of the second human case in two years, involving a dairy farm worker in April, heightened concerns about the virus spreading to both animals and people.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency laboratories reported no evidence of the disease after testing 142 retail milk samples from across the country. Similarly, the US Food and Drug Administration has tested milk samples and found no signs of the live virus but cautioned against consuming unpasteurised raw milk.

-      Reuters