Bird flu virus survives in raw-milk cheese for months

Medical News.net A new study published in Nature Medicine reveals that highly pathogenic avian influenza virus can remain infectious for up to 120 days under certain pH conditions in raw-milk cheese produced from contaminated milk. This finding raises serious public health concerns, as contaminated raw-milk products can potentially increase human exposure to the virus. The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus is a subtype of influenza A virus that predominantly affects wild birds globally. Recently, outbreaks of this virus have been detected in poultry and dairy cows in the U.S., with several human cases reported among dairy and poultry workers. Such spillover events (viral transmission from one species to another) raise serious public health concerns that require urgent attention and careful management.