Categories: Health

Bird flu found in meat from dairy cows, authorities rule out risk

MIAMI- He avian influenza virus was first discovered in beefannounced USDA (USDA for its acronym in English), but authorities said that dairy cow meat the disease will enter the country’s food supply and that beef remains safe for consumption.

He USDA explained that the virus was discovered during tests carried out on 96 Dairy cows which were removed from shipments because federal inspectors found signs disease during routine inspections of animals slaughtered at meat processing plants. Bird flu was detected in only one of these cows.

Avian influenza has been confirmed in dairy cow herds in nine states, particularly in milk, and has led to the slaughter of millions of chickens and turkeys. But its detection in beef is new since the outbreak began in 2022.

Last month, the agency said it would test ground beef for bird flu in retail stores but has so far found no traces of the virus.

Even if bird flu gets into consumers’ beef, the USDA says cooking meat to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit (73.9 Celsius) will kill it, just as it kills E. coli and other germs.

This spring, two dairy workers in Michigan and Texas contracted bird flu. Health authorities say the risk to the public remains low, but farm workers who come into contact with infected animals are at increased risk.

Only one other human case of avian influenza has been confirmed in the United States. In 2022, an inmate in a work program contracted it while slaughtering infected birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado. His only symptom was fatigue, and he recovered.