Scientists at NIAID found that heat treatment significantly reduces infectious H5N1 virus levels in raw milk, although small amounts can remain under certain conditions. This discovery is important amid a reported H5N1 outbreak in U.S.
dairy cattle. Research shows that heating raw milk greatly lowers H5N1 virus levels, but traces might persist. Despite concerns from a U.
S. cattle outbreak, ongoing FDA evaluations maintain that commercial milk is safe. Laboratory experiments show that the amount of infectious H5N1 influenza viruses in raw milk rapidly declined with heat treatment.
The research was conducted by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). However, small, detectable amounts of infectious virus remained in raw milk samples with high virus levels when treated at 72 degrees Celsius (161.6 degrees Fahrenheit ) for 15 seconds—one of the standard pasteurization methods used by the dairy industry.
The authors of the study stress, however, that their findings reflect experimental conditions in a laboratory setting and are not identical to large-scale industrial pasteurization processes for raw milk. The findings were published on June 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine . H5N1 Outbreak in U.
S. Dairy Cattle In late March 2024, United States officials reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus called HPAI H5N1 among dairy cows in Texas. To date, 95 cattle herd.
