Food agency to start testing milk for bird flu virus

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced Friday night that it will begin testing milk from grocery stores for viral fragments of the H5N1 bird flu virus.

The agency said it wants to reassure Canadians that commercially sold milk and dairy products remain safe to consume.

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“With recent news that dairy cattle in the United States have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and reports of HAPI fragments detected in pasteurized milk sold in the US, we understand that Canadians may be concerned about the safety of milk and dairy products,” the CFIA said in a statement Friday night.

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The move comes after inactive fragments of avian influenza appeared in retail milk in the United States, where the virus has been confirmed in 36 dairy herds. Inactive fragments of avian influenza were found in about 20 percent of samples tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA also found fragments of the virus in cottage cheese and sour cream. Beef is also being tested in the US.

Fragments are not active and are not considered a risk. Pasteurization kills any viruses in the milk. The FDA released a study this week showing that pasteurization works to inactivate the virus that causes HPAI, or H5N1 avian influenza. But the findings in American milk were widely seen as evidence that the spread of avian influenza in livestock is more common than believed and may involve asymptomatic cattle not identified as infected.

HPAI is a notifiable disease in Canada, meaning anyone who suspects a case in poultry or livestock must report it to the CFIA. Confirmed and probable human cases are also reportable.

Previously, testing for avian influenza was performed if animals showed any signs of HPAI. None had been identified in Canada.

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The CFIA says the expansion of existing measures is intended to manage the potential HPAI avian influenza emergency in Canada.

“If the CFIA becomes aware of any potential risks to food safety or animal health, immediate action will be taken to help protect Canada’s food supply and livestock.”

Their work will “inform and support” ongoing preparations being undertaken by the Public Health Agency of Canada and its partners to protect human health.

The CFIA announcement comes amid growing global concern about the spread of avian influenza in mammals, raising the risk that the virus mutates into a form that can easily spread among humans, potentially causing a deadly pandemic. .

The spread to cattle and barn cats in the United States in recent months has heightened that concern.

A person who worked with livestock also tested positive for the virus. Anecdotally, some have spoken of illnesses in farm workers in the US during the same period that went unreported.

Officials in Canada and elsewhere continue to say the risk remains low to humans.

In Canada, however, there has been growing concern that not enough was known about whether the virus was in cattle. A leading animal health expert is among those who have been pushing for the federal government to do more active testing for the virus in Canada, saying without that there is not enough information to say whether the virus is in Canada.

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Despite assurances from government officials that no cases of H5N1 have been identified in Canada, J. Scott Weese, director of the Center for Public Health and Zoonoses at the Ontario Veterinary College, told this newspaper on Friday that there have been no Enough vigilance to say I’m sure he’s not in Canada.

“We don’t know if we have it in this country in cattle. We don’t have testing yet, but we haven’t done much surveillance,” Weese said.

“You can’t control it if you don’t look,” Weese said.

Canada has an influenza pandemic plan that allows for the manufacture of pandemic and pre-pandemic vaccines to protect people if deemed necessary.

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