Traces of bird flu virus found in some milk and pasteurized dairy, FDA says

As federal agencies and state partners continue investigating outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) — more commonly referred to as bird flu — the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it discovered fragments of the virus in some samples of milk.

In an update from the FDA, the agency said it tested milk samples by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and found the presence of fragments of the virus, which is not the same as infectious virus and currently poses no increased risk to human health.

“Based on available information, pasteurization is likely to inactivate the virus, however the process is not expected to remove the presence of viral particles,” the FDA said.