With hundreds of finger-licking preparations, India loves chicken in a way that may be indescribable to a non-resident. However, with the way things are progressing in the avian world, we could soon see a surge in disdain for the delectable meat, and in perhaps the same way the masses denounced bats during the COVID-19 pandemic.<br /><br />In a surprising and alarming twist, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07849-4">new research</a> has found that <keyword id="20633083" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="avian-influenza" source="keywords">avian influenza</keyword>, or <keyword id="20396857" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bird-flu" source="keywords">bird flu</keyword>, has jumped from birds to dairy cattle across many parts of the United States. Initially detected in wild birds, the <keyword id="21348322" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="H5N1" source="keywords">H5N1</keyword> had led to symptoms like reduced appetite, respiratory distress, and a significant drop in milk production.<br /><br />"This is one of the first times that we are seeing evidence of efficient and sustained mammalian-to-mammalian transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1," said Diego Diel, a virology expert who has written extensively about the topic.<br /><br />As per the new report, significant amounts of the virus has now been identified in the mammary glands of infected cows, meaning their milk itself has the ability to infect others. Researchers have even documented cases where cats and a raccoon became infected, likely from consuming the raw milk from infected cows. Although pasteurisation has shown the ability to kill the virus, the newfound ability to jump from cows to other mammals remains particularly troubling, especially considering how reliant we are on cow products such as beef and milk.<br /><h2>Human cases and <keyword id="22448349" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic-potential" source="keywords">pandemic potential</keyword></h2>If you’re feeling comfortable in the thought that the virus has some ways to go before humans need to be concerned, you might want to think again. So far, 11 human cases have already been reported in the US, primarily linked to cattle and <keyword id="20524711" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="poultry-farms" source="keywords">poultry farms</keyword>. While these cases have resulted in mild symptoms, experts worry that the virus could mutate, enhancing its transmissibility among humans. This possibility is a significant concern for scientists and health authorities.<br /><div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="109054967" title="Scientists warn of bird flu pandemic that could be &amp;#39;100 times worse&amp;#39; than COVID after rare human case found in US" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Further, as viruses do, H5N1 is already evolving at a rapid pace. A <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1101/2024.07.14.603367">separate study </a>led by researchers at UNC Charlotte found that the latest variants of H5N1 are getting better at evading antibodies, including those in humans. According to the researchers, these mutations could potentially lead the virus towards pandemic status if it continues to adapt and spread among mammals.<br /><h2>Will developing nations be able to cope?</h2>Given these developments, continuous monitoring of the virus in both animals and humans is critical. The US Department of Agriculture has funded H5N1 testing programs to detect and manage outbreaks early. Enhanced biosecurity measures and quarantine protocols will undoubtedly be critical to prevent the virus from spreading to pandemic levels.<br /><br />However, this is a task much easier said than done for developing countries, who often lack the infrastructure and resources needed for such robust surveillance and response. Many of these countries have limited access to advanced diagnostic tools, vaccines, and antiviral treatments. This disparity leaves large portions of the global population vulnerable to the spread of H5N1.<br /><div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="110941217" title="WHO confirms human case of bird flu in India! H9N2 virus detected in a four-year child in West Bengal" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>The World Health Organization has repeatedly stressed the need for global cooperation and support to strengthen health systems in underprepared regions. Without adequate resources, these countries may struggle to detect and contain the virus, potentially allowing it to spread unchecked. This not only endangers local populations but also increases the risk of a global pandemic.<br /><br />The implications of these studies are clear: the H5N1 virus is moving closer to pandemic potential. As it spreads among mammals, the risk of it adapting to humans increases. The world needs to prepare now to avoid being caught off guard, as was the case with the COVID-19 pandemic.<br />

Cows are now spreading bird flu to each other — here's why that's problematic for humans

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The H5N1 <keyword id="753637" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bird-flu-virus" source="Orion">bird flu virus</keyword> is spreading through US cattle herds for the first time.</li><li>The mammal-to-mammal transmission has scientists worried the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-hiv-had-coronavirus-216-days-virus-mutated-2021-6">virus could mutate</a> to spread between humans.</li></ul><keyword id="95867" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bird-flu" source="Orion">Bird flu</keyword> is flying wild. In recent months the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-avian-influenza-outbreak-us-h5n1-wiping-out-everything-2023-4">highly pathogenic H5N1 virus</a> has been spreading through US cattle herds for the first time ever.<br /><br />The cow-to-cow transmission is the latest escalation in a global <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/egg-prices-poised-to-spike-again-thanks-to-avian-flu-2023-12">outbreak</a> that began when the virus reemerged in Europe in 2020. It has since killed tens of millions of birds and more than 40,000 sea lions and seals in South America.<br /><br />World Health Organization chief scientist Jeremy Farrar <a target="_blank" href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/1148696">called</a> this an "<keyword id="20925201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="animal-pandemic" source="Orion">animal pandemic</keyword>" on April 18.<br /><br />Genetic fragments of the virus, discovered in grocery store milk on Tuesday, suggest the <keyword id="21439799" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cattle-outbreak" source="Orion">cattle outbreak</keyword> is more widespread than officials believed, The Washington Post <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/04/23/bird-flu-virus-milk/">reported</a>.<br /><br />Experts told the Post that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-eggs-meat-milk-dairy-safety-during-outbreak-2024-4">drinking pasteurized milk is probably still safe</a>. Pasteurization deactivates pathogens, probably including H5N1, according to the Food and Drug Administration. However, no studies have specifically tested whether pasteurizing milk deactivates H5N1. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/health/bird-flu-usda-cattle.html">the New York Times</a>, the FDA is testing that now.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="row of cows sticking their heads through metal bars to eat hay feed" height="1500" width="2250" msid="109603130" hostid="261"></div>One human in Texas has tested positive for the virus after exposure to dairy cattle. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/p0401-avian-flu.html">According</a> to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that person's only symptom was eye redness.<br /><br />There has been no known human-to-human transmission. Still, future mutation could allow the virus to spread more easily to and between humans — a possibility of "great concern" to Farrar.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="man with turkeys inside coop. sign outside reads 'biosecurity area - no admittance w/o owner permission" height="1400" width="2100" msid="109603131" hostid="261"></div>Dr. Jerome Adams, a former surgeon general and the director of health equity at Purdue University, is getting deja vu.<br /><br />"If it keeps spreading in animals, then it is eventually going to cause problems for humans, either because we don't have food because they've got to start exterminating flocks, or because it starts to make a jump in humans," Adams, <keyword id="6366244" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="who" source="Orion">who</keyword> served under former President Donald Trump and was on the administration's initial COVID-19 task force, told Business Insider. "The more it replicates, the more chances it has to mutate."<br /><br />Though he agrees with the CDC's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/inhumans.htm">assessment</a> that the current risk to humans is low, Adams fears the US is repeating many mistakes it made in the early days of COVID-19.<br /><br /><h2>Weak messaging with no clear leaders</h2>Who is in charge of an animal pandemic in the US? The CDC? The US Department of Agriculture? The FDA?<br /><br />The answer is, sort of, all of them. That decentralized responsibility could be behind the lack of widespread, clear public messaging so far.<br /><br />For example, Adams says he hasn't changed anything about his diet, since pasteurization and proper cooking procedures should kill any live virus present. But he isn't sure everyone is getting the message.<br /><br />He compared it to the development of COVID-19 vaccines, when people distrusted a process they didn't understand.<br /><br />  <div type="image" title="person with ponytail green hoodie medical gloves inspects eggs in a grocery story" height="1500" width="2000" msid="109603133" hostid="261"></div>"The public needs good consistent communication from the White House, from the USDA, helping reassure them what the process is to keep them safe," Adams said.<br /><br />Rather than consumers, the people most at risk are agricultural workers or anyone with close or prolonged exposure to chickens or cattle. It's those groups who need strong, targeted guidance right now, Adams said.<br /><br /><h2>Only testing the sick</h2>So far, the USDA has only been testing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beef-prices-higher-drought-fewer-cattle-less-meat-2022-8">cattle herds</a> when an animal appears sick. That means asymptomatic spread could be flying under the radar.<br /><br />"An animal can't tell you, 'Hey, I feel a little under the weather today.' So they're literally waiting until an animal is collapsing or showing fatigue or showing severe symptoms," Adams said. "We need a testing strategy that is proactive and allows true surveillance, and not reactive."<br /><br />The USDA took a step forward on Wednesday, ordering that all lactating dairy cows must be tested for H5N1 before they're moved across state lines and that all positive test results must be reported.<br /><br />New York Times columnist Zeynep Tufekci <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/opinion/bird-flu-cow-outbreak.html">reported</a> that same day that, until now, the USDA has not been keeping track of positive test results in cattle.<br /><br /><h2>Election distraction</h2>  <div type="image" title="donald trump" height="3333" width="5000" msid="109603134" hostid="261"></div>In late 2019 and early 2020, the big news story was the impeachment, and later acquittal, of President Trump. Now a different <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-hush-money-trial-kicks-off-fiery-da-openings-2024-4">Trump trial</a> is dominating the news.<br /><br />And, as in 2020, this is an election year.<br /><br />"The Biden administration, particularly the White House, has been incredibly quiet on this bird flu situation. Why? To me, it looks like they very much don't want to scare the public and spook the economy in an election year," Adams said.<br /><br /><h2>Business vs. public health</h2>Just like the lockdowns of COVID-19 were devastating for the restaurant and hospitality industries, a crackdown on avian flu can be devastating to the chicken industry.<br /><br />The treatment for a <keyword id="1433269" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bird-flu-outbreak" source="Orion">bird flu outbreak</keyword> is to kill all the chickens. Even before that, just testing the flock can slow down production.<br /><br />"We're seeing the same tension between business interests and public health interests," Adams said.<br /><br />What's more, many of the workers who handle chickens and cattle are undocumented immigrants. That can make them and their bosses hesitant to call in authorities over diseased animals.<br /><br />Many vulnerable groups were hesitant to report illness in the early COVID days, too, including migrant workers and people who didn't have sick leave from work.<br /><br />"My concern is we keep making the same mistakes over and over again," Adams said. "Because we keep focusing on the wrong things instead of focusing on the root causes."<br /><br />

Bird flu could jump to humans any day. A former surgeon general says it feels like 2020 again.

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-avian-influenza-outbreak-us-h5n1-wiping-out-everything-2023-4">H5N1 avian influenza, also called bird flu</a>, is spreading through US chickens and now cattle.</li><li>The FDA discovered genetic material from the virus in grocery store milk.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/got-milk-gen-z-problem-realistically-unhealthy-2023-4">Milk</a> might contain remnants of the <keyword id="21348322" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="H5N1" source="keywords">H5N1</keyword> <keyword id="20396857" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="bird-flu" source="keywords">bird flu</keyword> virus that's raging through US chickens and cattle.<br /><br />The Food and Drug Administration <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/updates-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-hpai">announced</a> Tuesday that it had discovered virus particles in "some of the samples collected" throughout the milk supply chain, from the cow to the shelf. The agency did not indicate how many samples tested positive or from where, but said the detections "do not represent actual virus that may be a risk to consumers."<br /><br />However, the discovery suggests the virus has spread further through the <keyword id="21438910" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-cattle-population" source="Orion">US cattle population</keyword> than officials previously realized. Scientists are growing more concerned that this <keyword id="109029" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="avian-influenza" source="Orion">avian influenza</keyword> outbreak could make the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-cattle-outbreak-repeat-mistakes-former-surgeon-general-warning-2024-4">jump into human-to-human transmission</a>.<br /><br />So far, though, many public health experts don't think this rings alarm bells about the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-eggs-meat-milk-dairy-safety-during-outbreak-2024-4">safety of the food supply</a>.<br /><br />"I had eggs yesterday and I had milk last night, and I'll have a steak if someone gives me a steak," Dr. Jerome Adams, who was the surgeon general of the Trump administration and is now the director of health equity at Purdue University, told Business Insider on Wednesday.<br /><br />"I still believe that the way we process and cook foods is going to disable most bacteria and viruses, including this one," he said.<br /><br /><h2>Pasteurization should kill H5N1 in milk</h2>    <div type="image" title="row of cows sticking their heads through metal bars to eat hay feed" height="1500" width="2250" msid="109605298" hostid="261"></div>The FDA oversees the nation's milk supply, and the US Department of Agriculture oversees dairy cows. Both say they believe the commercial milk supply is safe, due to the pasteurization process and the practice of disposing of milk from sick cows.<br /><br />Pasteurization heats milk at a high temperature for a brief period of time to kill microbes living inside it. Some states allow the sale of unpasteurized, aka "raw," milk or cheese, which the CDC recommends avoiding.<br /><br />Public-health experts told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/04/23/bird-flu-virus-milk/">The Washington Post</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/health/bird-flu-milk.html">The New York Times</a> on Tuesday that they, too, believe <keyword id="1476604" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pasteurized-milk" source="Orion">pasteurized milk</keyword> to be safe, but that the federal government should still conduct tests to confirm that. The FDA says such tests are ongoing.<br /><br />    <div type="image" title="cow udder rigged with machine and tubes for milking" height="1500" width="2250" msid="109605301" hostid="261"></div>"It's taking them too long to be able to reassure the public about the safety of milk," Adams said.<br /><br />Some studies have shown that pasteurization deactivates H5N1 in eggs, the FDA says, and that happens at a lower temperature than milk pasteurization.<br /><br />"To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe. Results from multiple studies will be made available in the next few days to weeks," the FDA statement said.<br /><br /><h2>To be extra safe, cook meat and eggs all the way</h2>There's probably no "significantly increased risk," Dr. Samuel Alcaine, an associate professor of food science at Cornell University, told Business Insider on April 6, but you can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-eggs-meat-milk-dairy-safety-during-outbreak-2024-4">be extra safe by fully cooking your meat and eggs</a> (until the yolk is firm).<br /><br />    <div type="image" title="Person using spatula to cook steak in frying pan" height="1808" width="3000" msid="109605302" hostid="261"></div>Adams says he doesn't normally eat rare steak or runny eggs anyway.<br /><br />"That has nothing to do with H5N1. That's just me being someone who's been in public health and food safety for a long time," he said.<br /><br />His wife does eat runny eggs and rare steak, though, he added, "and I'm not telling her to change what she does."<br /><br />He added that people should still follow basic food-safety practices: Wash your hands after handling raw meat or eggs, and before handling the food you'll eat. Prevent cross-contamination from raw meats or eggs and the utensils that have touched them. Always cook poultry to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.<br /><br /><h2>The biggest bird flu risk for humans isn't food</h2>The people who are really at risk for bird flu are those who work closely with chickens, cattle, or other livestock.<br /><br />The CDC <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/hpai/hpai-interim-recommendations.html">says</a> those workers should avoid unprotected, direct contact with sick animals, raw milk, animals' drinking water, animal carcasses, feces, litter, or other surfaces that could be contaminated with animals' saliva, blood, or other excretions. Workers should be provided with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/h5/worker-protection-ppe.htm">personal protective equipment</a> for those situations and trained to use it properly, the agency says.<br /><br />"It's spreading rapidly in these animals, and every time it spreads, it has a chance to mutate," Adams said.<br /><br />

Bird flu particles were found in pasteurized milk. A former surgeon general says he isn't changing what he eats.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The bird flu, or avian influenza, is increasingly worrying public-health experts.</li><li>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-avian-influenza-outbreak-us-h5n1-wiping-out-everything-2023-4">H5N1 bird flu virus</a> is changing, creeping closer to humans, and getting more opportunities to adapt.</li></ul><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-virus-h5n1-new-human-case-michigan-respiratory-symptoms-2024-6">Bird flu</a> is flying wild, and it has many infectious disease experts more worried now than ever.</p><p>The H5N1 avian influenza virus has killed tens of millions of birds across the planet and more than 40,000 sea lions and seals. For animals, it's a pandemic.</p><p>Still, the CDC says the risk to humans is low. Most people seem to have very little chance, if any, of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-eggs-meat-milk-dairy-safety-during-outbreak-2024-4">catching H5N1 avian influenza</a> right now.</p><p>Only three people in the US have tested positive for the virus since its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-cattle-outbreak-repeat-mistakes-former-surgeon-general-warning-2024-4">surprising break into the cattle population</a>, and they all had direct contact with infected cows.</p><div type="image" title="farmer man in overalls blue and white button shirt and camo cap reaches over a wooden fence to scratch a cow wearing a bow inside an indoors stall full of hay" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110949087" hostid="261" sizebytes="321112"></div><p>But infectious disease experts are increasingly concerned that the H5N1 virus could <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-viruses-scientists-are-watching-for-the-next-pandemic-2022-4">make a sustained jump into humans</a> and start spreading among us. That's not inevitable, but several recent developments suggest it's a growing threat.</p><p>"There's a lot going on," Dr. Monica Gandhi, a professor of medicine and associate chief of the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told Business Insider. "I'm becoming more worried."</p><p>You shouldn't panic, but you should probably know what's going on. This virus is a leading candidate for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-says-world-needs-billion-year-prevent-next-pandemic-2022-6">the next pandemic</a>, and four developments in the past month have experts worried.</p><p>Here's what you need to know.</p><h2 id="a6efdbe9-4727-4b3a-b934-ceccc3f63ba8">Bird flu hospitalized a child in Australia</h2><p id="a6efdbe9-4727-4b3a-b934-ceccc3f63ba8">On Friday the World Health Organization announced that a 2-year-old had become Australia's first human case of H5N1 in March.</p><p id="a6efdbe9-4727-4b3a-b934-ceccc3f63ba8">After returning from travel to Kolkata, India, the child's symptoms — loss of appetite, fever, coughing, vomiting, and irritability, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2024-DON519">according</a> to WHO — put them in the hospital for two and a half weeks, including admission to the intensive care unit.</p><p id="a6efdbe9-4727-4b3a-b934-ceccc3f63ba8">As human cases crop up in different parts of the world, epidemiologists like Christopher Dye become more concerned.</p><p id="a6efdbe9-4727-4b3a-b934-ceccc3f63ba8">"There's such a vast amount of virus at the moment. And clearly it is changing, and it's doing new and unexpected things," Dye, a professor and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford, told BI.</p><div type="image" title="researcher in white lab coat blue medical gloves and protective goggles works with an ice bucket containing small samples of milk in a lab" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110949085" hostid="261" sizebytes="166070"></div><p id="a6efdbe9-4727-4b3a-b934-ceccc3f63ba8">He recently co-authored a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bmj.com/content/385/bmj.q1199.full">paper</a>, published in the medical journal BMJ, arguing that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-real-is-the-last-of-us-science-behind-fungus-pandemic-2023-1">risk of a major human outbreak</a> is "large, plausible, and imminent."</p><p id="a6efdbe9-4727-4b3a-b934-ceccc3f63ba8">"<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/influenza-more-worrisone-than-zika-ebola-2016-4">Influenza has always been a concern</a> for decades and decades, and this particular form of influenza for at least two decades," Dye said. "But now, it's risen to a level of concern, I think, which is greater than ever before."</p><h2 id="17691a35-dcc3-4171-8b3c-1c847c1e9bb6">Mice could bring bird flu into homes</h2><p>A total of 47 house mice have tested positive for H5N1 in New Mexico, the US Department of Agriculture reported on Tuesday.</p><p>"Mice are kind of everywhere," Gandhi said. "They're around other animals, they're around humans a lot. And it's a little worrisome."</p><div type="image" title="brown mouse with white belly sits eating small piece of something in the snow" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110949089" hostid="261" sizebytes="37666"></div><p id="ee352b94-e3c2-472b-a4d0-8ea01e066eff">The samples were collected from the sick mice in early May. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/why-the-discovery-of-h5n1-bird-flu-in-mice-is-so-alarming/">The Telegraph</a>, scientists suspect that the mice, as well as some domestic cats, may have gotten the virus from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-milk-food-safety-former-surgeon-general-doctor-2024-4">drinking raw milk from infected cows</a>. (Public health experts resoundingly advise that people should not drink unpasteurized, aka "raw," milk.)</p><p id="ee352b94-e3c2-472b-a4d0-8ea01e066eff">"This brings the virus closer to human homes," Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, told The Telegraph. "This is out of control," he added.</p><p id="ee352b94-e3c2-472b-a4d0-8ea01e066eff">Every new population of animals, and every new exposure to humans, is another opportunity for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-hiv-had-coronavirus-216-days-virus-mutated-2021-6">the virus to mutate</a> and adapt.</p><h2 id="abc7e6b4-b179-449b-b66c-ad52a39458d8">One mutation suggests the virus has started adapting</h2><div type="image" title="h5n1 virus microscope image shows black and white long straight worm-shaped organism" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110949092" hostid="261" sizebytes="157400"></div><p id="abc7e6b4-b179-449b-b66c-ad52a39458d8">When the CDC analyzed a virus sample from the second US farmworker infected, they spotted a mutation in the virus's replication machinery — the way it gets inside its host's cells to make copies of itself.</p><p id="abc7e6b4-b179-449b-b66c-ad52a39458d8">It's a change "associated with viral adaptation to mammalian hosts," the CDC said in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/spotlights/2023-2024/h5n1-technical-update-may-24-2024.html">statement in May</a>. The statement also said that studies in mice indicate this type of genetic mutation in the virus is associated with more severe disease and enhanced viral replication.</p><p id="abc7e6b4-b179-449b-b66c-ad52a39458d8">That doesn't make it a human virus yet, though.</p><p id="abc7e6b4-b179-449b-b66c-ad52a39458d8">Other than this one change, H5N1 has mainly "avian virus properties and not human virus properties," Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude and director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds, told BI.</p><p id="abc7e6b4-b179-449b-b66c-ad52a39458d8">That means the virus is better adapted to thrive and spread among birds, not humans.</p><p id="abc7e6b4-b179-449b-b66c-ad52a39458d8">Still, that could change.</p><h2 id="ddfee4b3-1706-4652-9418-5ae34679d762">The latest US case had a troubling cough</h2><p id="ddfee4b3-1706-4652-9418-5ae34679d762">The first two farmworkers to test positive for H5N1 in the US had <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/treatments/pink-eye-treatment">pink eye</a>. But the third case, reported in Michigan in May, featured a cough and sore throat.</p><p id="ddfee4b3-1706-4652-9418-5ae34679d762">That means H5N1 was in that worker's respiratory system, which is a scarier place to find a threatening virus than in our eyes.</p><p id="ddfee4b3-1706-4652-9418-5ae34679d762">For one thing, it's easier to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-covid-positive-biden-statement-meadows-book-coughing-on-people-2021-12">spread a virus by coughing</a> or sneezing than by, well, sharing eye fluid.</p><div type="image" title="A man coughing" height="1439" width="2084" msid="110949086" hostid="261" sizebytes="169668"></div><p id="ddfee4b3-1706-4652-9418-5ae34679d762">The good news is that, as far as scientists can tell, H5N1 is still not adapted to humans enough to transmit between us. The CDC has reported no evidence that the coughing farmworker spread the virus to anyone else.</p><p id="ddfee4b3-1706-4652-9418-5ae34679d762">But that doesn't mean H5N1 can't mutate to achieve human-to-human transmission — which brings us to the second unfortunate reality of this farmworker's respiratory infection. </p><p id="ddfee4b3-1706-4652-9418-5ae34679d762">Compared to the eyes, human lungs are a more convenient place for an avian virus to get more mammalian, according to Webby. In the lungs, the virus is exposed to more of the cell receptors that a mammalian virus would bind to, giving H5N1 more opportunity to mutate and start grabbing onto those receptors — thereby becoming better adapted to infecting and spreading between humans.</p><p>Many experts fear the USDA and CDC aren't monitoring cattle and farmworkers closely enough to catch concerning<strong> </strong>mutations early, and that other human cases may be going undetected.</p><div type="image" title="blue gloved hands in a white lab coat hold a large syringe and a lab tube of fluid" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110949093" hostid="261" sizebytes="47636"></div><p>"I think there's enough of a threat here to be very alert so that we have a surveillance system in place that, as soon as this happens, we can find it," Dye said.</p><h2 id="048d06aa-b91d-4421-b98b-5ae259b70f87">Vaccines are in the works</h2><p id="048d06aa-b91d-4421-b98b-5ae259b70f87">The good news is that bird flu is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/august-flu-vs-covid-infection-rate-2023-8">not COVID-19</a>. Scientists have been tracking this virus and its entire viral family tree, watching for any sign of a growing threat to humans, for decades.</p><p id="048d06aa-b91d-4421-b98b-5ae259b70f87">As a result, the key elements of a vaccine are already on standby. The US is beginning to manufacture millions of vaccines using "candidate vaccine viruses" — weakened influenza viruses — that the CDC has developed.</p><div type="image" title="how does the flu shot work" height="1414" width="2121" msid="110949090" hostid="261" sizebytes="78400"></div><p id="048d06aa-b91d-4421-b98b-5ae259b70f87">Though the candidates are not necessarily perfect matches to H5N1, and the vaccines' use of eggs may be a manufacturing roadblock if bird flu is sweeping the chicken population, they may provide some immunity in the case of a human outbreak.</p><p id="048d06aa-b91d-4421-b98b-5ae259b70f87">Furthermore, scientists now have proven <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mrna-vaccine-pfizer-moderna-coronavirus-2020-12">mRNA vaccine technology</a> at the ready. Vaccines that use mRNA, of which the COVID-19 vaccines were the first approved for use, are more flexible and faster to develop than traditional vaccines — and they don't require eggs.</p><div type="image" title="white shiny eggs on a machine coming out of a pink glowing chamber" height="1500" width="2667" msid="110949091" hostid="261" sizebytes="187078"></div><p id="048d06aa-b91d-4421-b98b-5ae259b70f87">Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have already <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2024/may/penn-researchers-develop-experimental-mrna-avian-flu-vaccine">developed</a> an experimental mRNA vaccine for H5N1, which they've successfully<strong> </strong>tested in mice and ferrets.</p><p id="048d06aa-b91d-4421-b98b-5ae259b70f87">If H5N1 becomes a problem in humans, a vaccine could be offered with the flu shot you get later this year.</p><p id="048d06aa-b91d-4421-b98b-5ae259b70f87">In the meantime, bird flu is a looming threat to keep an eye on.</p><p id="048d06aa-b91d-4421-b98b-5ae259b70f87">"As far as I can see, this is not going to go away anytime soon," Dye said.</p>

Why 4 new bird flu developments have experts worried about the virus

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Unpasteurized milk may be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-avian-influenza-outbreak-us-h5n1-wiping-out-everything-2023-4">spreading the H5N1 bird flu</a> between cows and to humans.</li><li>A new study showed the virus can survive in raw milk on milking equipment for over an hour.</li></ul><p>Contaminated milk may be spreading <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-cattle-outbreak-repeat-mistakes-former-surgeon-general-warning-2024-4">H5N1 bird flu</a> between dairy cattle, contributing to a major outbreak across 12 US states. It may also be how humans are getting infected.</p><p>A new study shows the virus can survive for over an hour in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-milk-food-safety-former-surgeon-general-doctor-2024-4">raw (unpasteurized) milk</a> left on the surfaces of materials used in equipment for milking dairy cattle.</p><p>That's a clue in the mystery of how the virus has spread so rapidly between US dairy cattle, infecting over 130 herds in Idaho, Michigan, Colorado, Texas, and more.</p><p>The cattle outbreak has scientists increasingly worried that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/h5n1-bird-flu-virus-experts-concerned-human-outbreak-spread-possible-2024-6">H5N1 virus could mutate</a> enough to cause an outbreak in humans. The more the virus spreads through cattle, the more opportunity it has to mutate.</p><div type="image" title="h5n1 virus microscope image shows black and white long straight worm-shaped organism" height="1500" width="2250" msid="111363768" hostid="261" sizebytes="157400"></div><p>Since April, three farmworkers have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-virus-h5n1-new-human-case-michigan-respiratory-symptoms-2024-6">tested positive for the virus</a>, but experts have found no evidence of human-to-human spread.</p><p>Understanding how the virus spreads between cattle is key to reigning in the outbreak and preventing further human infection.</p><p>"We need to know which dairy herds are infected, with what strains of virus, how infection is spread between farms, and how frequently dairy farm workers and other people are exposed," Christopher Dye, an infectious disease expert and professor at the University of Oxford, told Business Insider in an email.</p><p>According to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/updates-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-hpai#:~:text=In%20our%20May%2010%20update,on%20our%20retail%20sample%20survey.">FDA</a>, pasteurized milk purchased at the grocery store remains safe to drink. However, raw milk could be an agent of infection.</p><h2 id="717db34b-2baa-40b1-9ee3-63df82ce7055"><span>How to help stop the spread of H5N1 bird flu</span></h2><div type="image" title="racecar driver wearing red firestone cap with wreath of flowers over shoulders chugs milk from a glass bottle" height="1500" width="2062" msid="111363772" hostid="261" sizebytes="148362"></div><p id="717db34b-2baa-40b1-9ee3-63df82ce7055">Officials already knew that H5N1 was jumping farm-to-farm through the movement of cows, equipment, and people and that the virus concentrates in sick cows' udders and milk.</p><p>"That means even just a small splash of milk can spread the disease," Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack wrote in an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/21271-opinion-good-biosecurity-is-the-key-to-mitigating-the-spread-of-h5n1">op-ed</a> on June 21.</p><p>Indeed, the new study found that H5N1 virus remained infectious in raw milk for over an hour on stainless steel and rubber inflation lining — material used in milking equipment.</p><p>The research was <a target="_blank" href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/8/24-0775_article">published</a> in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases on Monday.</p><p>Milk may not be the only transmission route. It's possible that cows infect each other by licking each other or shoving their heads into feed together, for example, according to Meghan Davis, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and former dairy veterinarian.</p><p>However, the study suggests that cleaning milking equipment between cows and outfitting workers with protective gear could help prevent the spread.</p><p>"The workers are down in a, usually, recessed area and the udder is at face height," Davis told BI.</p><p>That's for their comfort and ability to work at milking for long periods of time, but it puts them at risk of milk splashing into their faces.</p><div type="image" title="worker wearing a blue apron grey hoodie and baseball cap milks cows on a ledge putting the udders at eye level" height="1500" width="2250" msid="111363765" hostid="261" sizebytes="315378"></div><p>Goggles and face shields could help. For now, they are not common practice on the dairy floor.</p><p>Other forms of protective gear, such as N95 masks, can be difficult to implement on dairy farm floors because of hot and humid conditions, Davis said. That can make heavy protective gear incredibly uncomfortable or even put workers at increased risk of heat-related illness.</p><p>As for cleaning the milking equipment, she added, "there are processes for cleaning, but the level of disinfection that you need in order to inactivate virus is generally going to be beyond what might be normal practice."</p><p>The ideal cleaning process may look different farm-to-farm depending on the transmission dynamics, the vulnerability of the different cows there, and how finicky the animals are.</p><p>Long pauses for cleaning in between milkings can affect how much milk a cow produces and even be harmful to the animal, Davis said. It could also result in longer exposure periods for workers because it takes longer to milk a lineup of cows. </p><p>On the consumer side of the dairy industry, the study is also further evidence that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-eggs-meat-milk-dairy-safety-during-outbreak-2024-4">nobody should drink raw (unpasteurized) milk</a>.</p>

A new study suggests a culprit in bird flu's rapid spread through US cattle, and how to stop it

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The H5N1 bird-flu virus has infected a third person in the US, this time with respiratory symptoms.</li><li>The new patient's cough and sore throat could help the virus get better at infecting humans.</li></ul><p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-cattle-outbreak-repeat-mistakes-former-surgeon-general-warning-2024-4">H5N1 bird-flu virus</a> has once again infected a human. But this time, the unlucky patient had a cough and a sore throat, which is a new milestone for the virus's spread in the US.</p><p>The H5N1 virus has become a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-avian-influenza-outbreak-us-h5n1-wiping-out-everything-2023-4">pandemic among animals</a>, raging through worldwide bird populations and now through US cattle herds.</p><p>This latest human case, which the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Thursday, is the third known human case in the US, following one in Texas and another in Michigan.</p><p>All three people are dairy-farm workers who were exposed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-virus-chickens-cows-human-food-outbreaks-pandemic-2024-5">infected cows</a>, according to the CDC.</p><p>The first two cases, however, involved only eye symptoms, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/treatments/pink-eye-treatment">conjunctivitis or pink eye</a>. That means the infection was probably limited to their eyes. Now, it has hit someone's lungs.</p><p>The risk to the general public is still low, the CDC says, but these new symptoms suggest the virus may have entered a new phase of its flirtation with human infection.</p><h2 id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">Lungs give the virus more opportunity to adapt to humans</h2><p id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">The St. Jude virologist Richard Webby is a leading researcher on an H5 group of influenza viruses, which have been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/egg-prices-poised-to-spike-again-thanks-to-avian-flu-2023-12">circulating in bird populations</a> for about 25 years.</p><p id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">Since 2021, the H5N1 virus has branched out to new frontiers of sustained spread, infecting dolphins and porpoises, migrating to the Americas, culling sea lions and seals, and now spreading through <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beef-prices-higher-drought-fewer-cattle-less-meat-2022-8">US cattle herds</a>.</p><div type="image" title="two people in white biohazard suits with masks and goggles handle a vial on a beach next to a dead porpoise" height="1500" width="2249" msid="110684142" hostid="261"></div><p>"This virus keeps on turning up surprises," Webby, who directs the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds, told Business Insider. "Had you asked me, beginning of the year, what the chances are of H5 turning up in cows, I would have said exceedingly low."</p><p id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">Still, he said, H5N1 is still more of a bird virus than a mammalian virus. That's mainly because of the receptors it binds to in order to enter its hosts' cells and replicate itself.</p><p id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">"Avian viruses bind to one form of this receptor on the host cell. Mammalian viruses bind to a different form," Webby said.</p><p id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">The mucus lining the human eye (where the first farmworker got conjunctivitis) is rich in the receptors that avian viruses grab, he said. There, the H5N1 virus can continue operating as an avian virus, grabbing avian receptors with no need to adapt to human receptors.</p><p id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">But our respiratory tracts are full of both forms of this receptor <em>— </em>the form preferred by avian viruses and the one preferred by mammalian viruses. Therefore,<strong> </strong>being in the lungs gives H5N1 more exposure to the receptors that mammalian viruses use, Webby said.</p><p id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">That gives H5N1 more opportunity to sustain a mutation that would allow it to bind to those mammalian<strong> </strong>receptors, adapting better to human bodies.</p><p id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">That's the concern, but it's not clear whether that has actually happened inside this patient's lungs. For such a mutation to be significant, it would then have to spread to other people as well. So far, based on all known cases, the virus has been unable to spread from one person to another.</p><h2 id="151bdecc-20ab-4244-9dd5-9542f3aca984">Sequencing the virus tests for mutations</h2><p id="151bdecc-20ab-4244-9dd5-9542f3aca984">In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/02/opinion/bird-flu-case-respiratory.html">New York Times</a> opinion piece on Sunday, the virologist Rick Bright argued that the emergence of respiratory symptoms indicated "a dangerous inflection point" for the virus.</p><p id="151bdecc-20ab-4244-9dd5-9542f3aca984">After all, he wrote, "coughing can spread viruses more easily than eye irritation can."</p><div type="image" title="A man coughing" height="1439" width="2084" msid="110684144" hostid="261"></div><p id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">But for Webby, the Michigan patient's cough "doesn't change a whole lot."</p><p id="3e38b128-b335-4d91-85c2-ad38616292d6">Two previous one-off human cases of H5N1 — one in Chile and one in Ecuador — featured respiratory symptoms.</p><p>The virus didn't necessarily have to mutate to infect the Michigan farmworker's respiratory system, Webby said. The person could have simply encountered a large amount of virus, maybe an especially ill cow.</p><p>"That's me sort of looking at the crystal ball a little," he said, adding that it was "the most likely explanation for what we're seeing, rather than the other one, which is of course much more scary, that this virus has already changed."</p><p>Either way, scientists won't know if any scary mutations have occurred until they can examine the virus's genomic RNA sequence from this new case. But Webby said the patient carried such small amounts of the virus that it was possible the CDC wouldn't have enough to get the sequence.</p><p>Genome sequences are critical. By checking the virus's genes in each new human case, no matter how mild the symptoms, scientists can identify any fresh mutations that help it adapt to humans. If H5N1 becomes a bona fide<strong> </strong>mammalian virus, they could watch its transformation in real time.</p><div type="image" title="blue gloved hands in a white lab coat hold a large syringe and a lab tube of fluid" height="1500" width="2250" msid="110684146" hostid="261"></div><p>"The very first signals we're going to get that this virus is changing are probably going to come from human infections," Webby said.</p><p>So far, though, the government's monitoring may not be robust enough to spot those mutations early.</p><h2 id="3c3ea6d6-9c14-4a0d-8a69-ffacd711d1be">Scientists call for more testing so they won't miss mutations</h2><p>The Food and Drug Administration has detected fragments of the virus in commercial milk and beef. Public-health experts have told BI that though it's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-milk-food-safety-former-surgeon-general-doctor-2024-4">unlikely food will infect you</a>, cautious people can cook their eggs and meats all the way. They said nobody should drink unpasteurized milk, aka raw milk.</p><div type="image" title="Cattle look at the camera in front of a hay feeder." height="1417" width="2117" msid="110684147" hostid="261"></div><p id="3c3ea6d6-9c14-4a0d-8a69-ffacd711d1be">The real risk is to people who work directly with sick animals, especially farmworkers such as the three who have been infected so far.</p><p>The CDC's principal deputy director, Nirav Shah, told the press in a briefing on Thursday that the government was monitoring about 350 people nationwide who might have been exposed to H5N1, most of them in Michigan. But <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/30/health/bird-flu-infection-farmworker.html">The New York Times</a> reported that only about 40 farmworkers had been tested for the virus.</p><p>"We would like to be doing more testing," Shah said, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.statnews.com/2024/05/30/bird-flu-third-case-human-infection-caused-respiratory-symptoms/">STAT News</a>.</p><p>Bright argues that the government's weak testing regime could be allowing farmworker infections to fly under the radar.</p><div type="image" title="man with turkeys inside coop. sign outside reads 'biosecurity area - no admittance w/o owner permission" height="1400" width="2100" msid="110684148" hostid="261"></div><p>But undetected cases aren't the same thing as undetected spread.</p><p>Bright's essay rings alarm bells about unknown human-to-human transmission, but Webby finds that unlikely. Even with its current monitoring, the CDC would probably detect sustained human spread, he said.</p><p>Rather, the problem with undetected cases is that nobody can sequence their samples. Those are windows into the virus's genome (and possible mutations) that nobody is peeking through.</p><p>Webby and Bright agree that scientists need more sequences of the virus more quickly. For example, Bright said that despite the ongoing herd spread, the Department of Agriculture hadn't shared a new sequence from a cow infection sample in weeks.</p><p>"Bottom line is we need to have more information from exactly what this virus is doing," Webby said. "The more we can understand about it, I do believe we can properly control it, or at least control it way better than we are."</p><p><em>Correction — June 4, 2024: An earlier version of this story misstated the nature of genomic sequencing of the H5N1 virus. They are RNA sequences, not DNA.</em></p>

The 3rd human case of bird flu in the US has 2 new and troubling symptoms

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Avian flu, or bird flu, has been detected among cattle and chickens in multiple states.</li><li>Pasteurized animal products should still be safe to consume.</li></ul><p>Since the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (or, bird flu) reached cows and hens, there have been concerns about the safety of produce, and whether Americans should avoid certain foods.</p><p>The USDA said that as of now, there is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/federal-state-veterinary-public-health-agencies-share-update-hpai">no concern</a> that this should pose a risk to consumers. At the same time, it noted that this is a "rapidly evolving situation."</p><p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-announcements/usda-fda-cdc-share-update-hpai-detections-dairy-cattle">USDA</a> reported cases of HPAI in cattle herds across multiple states on March 25. As of Tuesday, that virus had reached chickens in Texas, <a target="_blank" href="https://calmainefoods.gcs-web.com/node/13596/pdf">Cal-Maine Foods announced</a>, "resulting in the depopulation of approximately 1.6 million laying hens" as a precaution.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://cals.cornell.edu/samuel-david-alcaine">Dr. Samuel Alcaine</a>, an associate professor of food science at Cornell University, said the USDA and CDC have been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bird-flu-avian-influenza-outbreak-us-h5n1-wiping-out-everything-2023-4">tracking avian flu for a while now</a>, but the recent detection of it in cows is a new development.</p><p>"Overall, I don't think there's a significantly increased risk to the US consumer as long as they're already following the basic food safety practices that we should be following at home anyways," he said.</p><p>Still, he shared the measures you can take to stay safe.</p><h2><strong>Most animal products are safe to eat</strong></h2><p>The US agriculture industry has strict protocols about quarantining sick animals so as not to spread the virus, The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/05/well/eat/bird-flu-dairy-milk-eggs.html">New York Times reported</a>.</p><p>Additionally, most commercial animal products, such as milk, cheese, and liquid eggs (egg yolks) go through a pasteurization process.</p><p>Alcaine said that according to existing research on the avian flu, "the temperatures that we use for pasteurization are more than adequate to inactivate the virus."</p><h2><strong>Embrace firm egg yolks</strong></h2><p>To be extra safe, fully cook your meat and eggs, said Alcaine. Just as you would to prevent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-raw-dough-3-people-in-hospital-2023-3">salmonella</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/e-coli-outbreak-sickening-people-multiple-states-ohio-michigan-2022-8">E.coli</a> infections, you should cook meat and eggs at hot-enough temperatures to prevent illness.</p><p>According to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/salmonella-and-eggs.html">CDC's salmonella guidelines</a>, you'll want to cook eggs until both the egg and yolk are firm, such as hard-boiled or scrambled eggs. (You can also use pasteurized eggs if you're craving them poached.)</p><h2>Cook meat to the right internal temperature</h2><p>For meat, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/keep-food-safe.html">the CDC recommends</a> cooking ground meats to 160°F and poultry to 165°F.</p><p>Additionally, Alcaine said you'll want to be wary of cross-contamination, such as keeping the utensils used to handle raw meat and eggs away from cooked food.</p><h2><strong>Raw animal products can carry bacteria</strong></h2><p>Most states require dairy products to be pasteurized, and any products that cross state lines must be pasteurized by federal law, Dr. Sumiko Mekaru, the vice president of research &amp; innovation at PHC Global, a bio risk threat intelligence platform provider, <a target="_blank" href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/bird-flu-outbreak-poses-risk-safety-americas-food/story?id=108856122">told ABC News</a>.</p><p>However, <a target="_blank" href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/raw-milk-legal-states">some states</a> allow the sale of raw milk and unpasteurized cheese, which have been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/03/10/the-alt-right-rebrand-of-raw-milk-00145625">growing in popularity</a> over recent years.</p><p>While Alcaine said that there's no evidence <em>yet </em>that this particular virus is spread through eating raw food, "we do know that things like raw milk also have issues with salmonella and listeria contamination."</p><p>In general, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/is-raw-unpasteurized-milk-healthy-safe-to-drink-2019-12">drinking raw milk</a> can lead to side effects like vomiting and diarrhea, and just to be safe, the <a target="_blank" href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2024/han00506.asp">CDC also suggests</a> abstaining in light of this recent outbreak.</p>

What you need to know about eating meat, dairy, and eggs during the bird flu outbreak, according to a food safety expert

<ul class="summary-list"><li>We compiled a list of the rarest foods around the world that you should try in your lifetime.</li><li>Try a spoonful of New Zealand's <strong>Mānuka honey, made from a flower which blooms for only 12 days.</strong></li><li><strong>Feast upon golden Almas caviar, sourced only from the Caspian Sea.</strong></li></ul><p>From the hard to make to the hard to find to the potentially deadly to consume, we're taking a look at 18 of some of the most <keyword id="137136" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Rare">rare</keyword> foods around the world.</p><p><strong>Đông Tảo chicken</strong><br />Đông Tảo chicken, or dragon chickens, look like a bird wearing a pair of Uggs. But their oversized feet are the telltale feature of this rare bird. Đông Tảo chickens have a dark meat, with a color closer to red meat. In Vietnam, where these birds are bred, the birds are often eaten during the Vietnamese New Year, but need to pass high standards to be deemed worthy. Buyers look for a tall chicken that weighs around 5 kilograms with thick, red feet and shiny black feathers.</p><p><strong>Donkey cheese</strong><br />"A typical American cow produces about 28 liters of milk per day, compare that to the sole liter a single donkey generates in 24 hours, and donkey cheese already feels pretty exclusive. The milk is closer in nutritional properties to breast milk than other common varieties, and lacks enough of a key protein in cows milk to easily cultivate cheese, meaning the process to turn Donkeys milk into cheese is kept under lock and key. Super filling with a nutty, earthy flavor the cheese can sell for $500 for a single pound"</p><p><strong>Sea cucumber</strong><br />This giant ocean slug is a sea cucumber - a bottom feeder with a tubular shape that has no limbs and no eyes but a ton of monetary value. It can be found all over the world but is most prevalent in the Pacific Ocean. Mostly eaten in Asian cuisines, sea cucumbers are beloved for their thick, chewy bite that's full of protein and antioxidants but low in fat. The Japanese sea cucumber, full of red and orange spikes, can set you back $3,500 for a single kilo, a little more than 2 pounds.</p><p><strong>Ayam Cemani</strong><br />If you've never visited Indonesia, it's unlikely you've encountered this chicken: charcoal black from gizzard to feathers to feet. The Ayam Cemani, bred on the islands of Indonesia, has a dominant gene that makes the chicken appear black all the way down to its organs. Just one of these chickens could cost around $200, though due to fears of the spread of bird flu, the chicken isn't often cleared for export, which means outside the country, a bird could set you back thousands of dollars.</p><p><strong>Almas caviar</strong><br />While it's common knowledge that caviar is pretty rare, your bougiest caviar ain't got nothin' on this. Almas means diamond in Persian, and while all caviar comes from wild sturgeon, Almas caviar stands out from other fish eggs with a golden color derived from an extremely rare albino sturgeon that lives in the Caspian Sea. It's said to have a spongier texture, with a less salty but nuttier flavor than your average caviar.</p><p><strong>Saffron</strong><br />Saffron is the world's most <keyword id="6359333" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="expensive">expensive</keyword> spice, with a single pound setting you back $1,500 or more. Bringing it back to high school earth science, the spice comes from the stigma of a saffron crocus flower, or the part of a flower where pollen germinates. Since each flower grows only three stigmas, it takes 17,000 flowers grown on a quarter acre of land to make a single pound, probably making the price seem a little more reasonable.</p><p><strong>Matsutake mushroom</strong><br />Matsutake mushrooms are known as the king of mushrooms in Japan. In wild forests, these mushrooms are rare because they need really specific conditions to grow, and even then, the blossoming mushrooms are susceptible to becoming snacks for wildlife. Many say they're worth the hunt for their spicy, pungent aroma and woodsy, earthy flavor.</p><p><strong>Swallow's nest soup</strong><br />When you think of a bird's nest, you likely picture a mound of twigs and leaves. But swiftlets make their nests entirely of their own sticky saliva, crafting a hard, transparent mass to hatch their chicks. In the wild, the birds build their nests on dangerously high cave ledges, making harvesting nearly, but not quite, impossible. The nest is cooked into a gelatinous soup full of protein.</p><p><strong>Fugu</strong><br />Fugu, a type of puffer fish, have poisonous livers, eyes, and ovaries that, when not properly removed, are more lethal than cyanide if consumed, giving the fish a reputation as the most dangerous <keyword id="6181" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Food">food</keyword> on Earth. It's because of this toxicity that preparation of the fish is highly regulated by the government in Japan, where fugu is a considered a delicacy. Chefs train for years before taking an extensive exam just to earn a certification to serve fugu. When sliced into sashimi, fugu has a mild, fresh taste with a chewy texture.</p><p><strong>Yubari King melon</strong><br />This melon might look like your average cantaloupe, but it is so much more. In fact, one Yubari King melon sold for $14,500 in 2018. And although the melons are grown in temperature- controlled greenhouses for cultivation all year round, they're still pretty rare. That's thanks to the meticulous TLC farmers pay their crop through the entire growing process, where each melon tree is pruned of its crop down to a single fruit, which they even massage by hand to ensure perfection. If you're looking to taste one yourself, make some friends in high places, since Yubari King melons are typically purchased as gifts.</p><p><strong>Iberian ham</strong><br />Bred exclusively in the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal, roaming freely in cold, rocky oak forests, feeding off grains and acorns, lives the black Iberian pig. The most coveted part of the animal is the legs, which are buried in salt for 15 to 20 days and cured in stages over years before they're finally ready for sale. The finished legs are sliced wafer thin, making for a uniquely fatty, succulent bite of sweet, salty ham with a bit of a nutty flavor.</p><p><strong>White truffles</strong><br />Truffles in general are pretty rare, but white truffles take it to the next level. Prone to growing near the roots of hazelnut and oak tree trees in Italian mountains, truffles are wild fungus that require specially trained dogs or hogs to sniff out. A white Alba truffle lacks an outer shell, giving it a golden color with a knobby shape and a slightly garlicky, rich, woody and earthy flavor.</p><p><strong>Maple syrup</strong><br />We all know the excitement of thick, sugary syrup blanketing a stack of pancakes on a Sunday morning. So it may be a shock to hear that sugary goodness is often more than likely a blend of high-fructose corn syrup and extracts. 40% of the US's real, pure maple syrup is tapped from the trees of Vermont. And while you may be thinking, "A forest of trees, all this syrup, there's no way its so rare!" it takes 44 gallons of sap to make a single gallon of real maple syrup. Grade A syrup is the most delicious and expensive to produce, with its lighter golden color and accompanying delicate taste.</p><p><strong>Mānuka honey</strong><br />Mānuka is a flower native to New Zealand that blooms for only 12 days. After the bees do what bees do, Mānuka honey is available for harvest for a super short two to six week period, which is why honey from this particular flower represents about 1% of the honey in the world. It has a rich, earthy flavor and is thinner than honey you're likely used to.</p><p><strong>Icelandic salt</strong><br />Icelandic Salt From kosher to sea to table, salt is one of the most prevalent seasonings around the world, but not all salt is created equal. Pure Icelandic salt can set you back about $30 per pound, which is 30 times the price of common table salt. That's because this salt comes from one of the coldest, most remote regions of Iceland where its meticulously harvested and processed by hand, making it a favorite among some of the world's best restaurants.</p><p><strong>Parmesan cheese</strong><br />Like Champagne or Camembert, Parmesan cheese is a regulated food that can only be made in the small region for which the food is named. Parmesan hails from a part of northern Italy called Emilia-Romagna including a town called, you guessed it, Parma. With only 329 dairies certified to make this cheese in the region - and due to the strict regulations, that means the whole world - Parmesan can cost more than double the price of more common cheeses, like cheddar.</p><p><strong>Madagascar vanilla</strong><br />With rows of vanilla extract and flavoring in the grocery store spice isle, vanilla might not seem like a rarity, but you're less likely to come across real whole-bean Madagascar vanilla than you might think. In fact, this long pod is one of the most difficult plants to harvest in the world, with flowers that bloom for only one single day a year and need to be hand pollinated that same day before pods are harvested and cured for months. And if you're totally fine with vanilla extract, keep in mind a lot of the products on those shelves aren't real vanilla, because even that process is time intensive, needing pods to be soaked in clear alcohol for up to two years.</p><p><strong>Wasabi</strong><br />Wasabi might seem like a common enough item, but in reality, the side of green paste you get with your sushi likely isn't the real thing, but rather a blend of root vegetables from the same family, like horseradish and mustard. Real wasabi is one of the hardest plants to cultivate and maintain in the world, needing ultra specific water flow, sunlight, soil, and consistent temperatures to thrive. Even then, it takes about a year and a half to grow before it's harvested by hand and ground into a paste for an earthy, rich, and more floral flavor than the grocery store fare.</p><p>So which rare foods do you want to try? Are there any we missed? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

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