Cows graze at a dairy farm in La Grange, Texas, that sells raw milk to the public. Chiara Eisner/NPR hide caption Raw milk is getting fresh scrutiny, as bird flu continues to infect dairy herds. A highly pathogenic strain of flu, deadly to birds, has spread to at least 58 herds of dairy cattle in nine states, and to at least two people.
Samples of unpasteurized milk have been found to contain the virus, according to USDA tests . But while federal authorities have advised people not to drink raw milk, it is still on sale and easily accessible in many places across the country. Even in Texas, where the bird flu in cows was first detected and where it has been found in more than a dozen herds , some farms selling unpasteurized raw milk to the public declined to have their supply examined, NPR found after reporters purchased raw milk and submitted it for testing on May 8.
The USDA-approved lab authorized to test the milk for the H5N1 bird flu virus called the farms to seek their permission to examine the milk, then also declined to test the milk for bird flu when the farmers did not grant it. “[The farms] are aware of what a nonnegative test would do to their business,” said Brandon Dominguez, the Veterinary Services Section Head at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic laboratory in College Station, Texas. “They asked that we do not run the test.
” After NPR reported that the USDA had confirmed the agency does not require labs to have permission from farms to test m.
