California health officials: Bird flu virus found in raw milk for sale

Health officials in California have discovered bird flu virus in raw milk for sale in a store in the state, a development scientists following the ongoing outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows have been anticipating and worrying about for some time.

While the human health implications of drinking H5N1-laced milk are unknown, scientists who study the virus have been fearful of what consuming milk containing the virus could do. Milk that comes directly from infected cows contains extremely high levels of virus. In laboratory studies, raw milk consumption triggers severe disease in some animal models. And there have been multiple reports of dead cats on farms with H5N1-infected cows.

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