Bird flu viral fragments nasumpungan sa pasteurized milk
Photo: eaglenews.ph
Sinabi ng US health authorities na nakadiskubre sila ng fragments ng bird flu virus sa pasteureized cow milk supply ng bansa sa panahon ng isang malaking pag-aaral, ngunit ang mga sample hindi naman malamang na magdadala ng banta sa kalusugan ng mga tao.
Isang outbreak ng Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) ang kumalat sa dairy cattle herds sa buong bansa at nahawahan ang isang tao, na nagpakita ng banayad na sintomas.
Bagama’t ang H5N1 strain ng HPAI ay ikinamatay na ng milyun-milyong manok, ang mga apektadong baka ay hindi nagkasakit nang husto.
Sa isang pahayag ay sinabi ng Food and Drug Administration, “During the course of a national survey, we discovered viral particles in ‘milk from affected animals,’ in the processing system, and on the shelves.”
Ngunit ang mga sample ay ipinadaan sa isang napakasensitibong quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) test, at nagawang ma-detect ang latak ng genetic material ng pathogen kahit na ang virus mismo ay hindi na naging aktibo sa init ng proseso ng pasteurization.
Ayon sa ahensiya, “The pasteurization process has served public health well for more than 100 years. Even if virus is detected in raw milk, pasteurization is generally expected to eliminate pathogens to a level that does not pose a risk to consumer health.”
Sinabi pa nito, “The agency’s scientists are working to study positive samples further using ‘egg viability studies.’ These involve injecting an embryonated chicken egg with a sample and then seeing whether any active virus replicates.”
Dagdag pa ng FDA, “Additional analysis is underway of milk on store shelves across the country in addition to work to evaluate any potential differentiation for various types of dairy products (e.g., whole milk, cream).”
