Is my food safe from the bird flu?

Courtney Prielipp

Washtenaw Voice

2024 saw an increase in the number of dairy cattle affected by the bird flu or avian influenza. Bird flu is a viral infection that primarily affects birds, according to Kalthoum Bayz, a professor of life sciences at WCC. 

“New federal rules call for testing unpasteurized milk from dairy processors and for farm owners to provide details that would help officials identify and track cases more easily,” according to New York Times reporting. 

The bird flu has been an ongoing concern for the poultry industry. 

“From a poultry industry perspective, they have been trying [to] mitigate this for a very long time,” said Pierce Bennett, the livestock policy specialist for Michigan Farm Bureau. “In the last eight or so months, we (dairy industry) have seen a strain of avian influenza become transferable into dairy cattle. We first found those dairy cattle in Texas back in March of 2024 and have seen that spread across the country. It is not in all 50 states.”

“The bird flu has been a concern for poultry farms for decades,” but just recently spread to dairy cattle, Bennett said. 

This is due to a process known as spillover, according to Bayz. “This typically occurs when different species come into direct contact with each other such as on a farm through close feed or water. Viral genomes mutate, or change, frequently, which allows the virus to infect a new species.” 

According to Bennet, the best way to identify if a chicken or cow has bird flu is by seeing if they are up right, eating and drinking the normal amount, interacting with other animals in the barn or acting the way they normally would. But, in a case where a flock is identified with bird flu, they are immediately quarantined. That flock won’t be put through production to be processed. The farm would then contact their state’s department of agriculture to investigate where the virus came from. The flock is then put down humanely. 

Fortunately, when an infected dairy cow is identified, they will be quarantined and back to production in a few days to a few weeks. But how do we know if the milk is safe even after the cow is better? 

“This virus presents really heavily in the milk when researchers study viral load, where most viruses can be found in sick animals, where do you find it,” Bennett said. Through the pasteurization process, which is a standard food safety process that is an essential part of the dairy industry that kills harmful bacteria, there is no risk to others who are consuming milk that has been pasteurized.

Currently, both industries have biosecurity practices for both animals and humans. Bennet states that the industry is making sure employees are showering in or out, have sterile clothes and are washing their boots. This is alongside making sure that feed trucks are clean and sterile. 

“There are vaccines in the works for both poultry and dairy currently in the works. In the states, there are several trials happening for the bird flu vaccine,” says Bennet. Once those trials are towards the end, they can start working with the USDA to try to get the vaccine in use for commercial uses. 

With a virus like the bird flu, the public doesn’t know what it is. Rebekah Kojiro, a student majoring in general studies, said she “remembers learning about it in 6th or 7th grade, but I don’t remember very much.”

Even those who have heard of it, such as Kizzy Wade, a student majoring in business, said,  “it didn’t bother me for some reason because I’m not around birds.” 

An important factor in this case of a virus affecting the food industry is doing research. “When people hear about a virus affecting food sources, it triggers concerns about potential shortages and whether the food is safe to consume. In some cases, misinformation spreads faster than the virus itself, exacerbating the fear,” said Bayz. 

Bennet encourages those to reach out and ask questions to your state department of agriculture, local farm bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

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