GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — With avian flu on the rise in Michigan in recent days, and as it has now been detected in some local livestock, you may be wondering whether your milk and other dairy products are safe.
"There are multiple sites where dairy cattle have been infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza across the country now," Michigan's Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said. "All of those sites are being monitored very carefully."
However, Bagdasarian told 13 ON YOUR SIDE there's a reason why she and her colleagues believe the risk to the general public right now is, in their view, very low.
"The nice thing in this situation is that we have a process that we know kills viruses, bacteria, other types of pathogens that could be found in products, and that's pasteurization," Bagdasarian said.
Pasteurization, Bagdasarian explained, involves heating the dairy product to the point that it kills germs and viruses like influenzas.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, milk that enters interstate commerce must pasteurized.
"Those are the types of milk products that are found in your grocery store aisles, and in schools and in all kinds of places across our state," Bagdasarian said.
However, raw milk that has not undergone pasteurization and that could be consumed by those that own infected cows or can receive raw dairy from agreements like herd shares, is what Bagdasarian said could pose risks for multiple illnesses.
"There have always been warnings, especially for folks with weakened immune systems, those who are pregnant because we know that pasteurization kills things like salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, all of those pathogens that we especially want to make sure that folks with somewhat weakened immune systems aren't exposed to," Bagdasarian said. "But right now, as we're continuing to learn more about avian influenza, we want to make sure that no one is at risk. We want to make sure that no one is exposing themselves to a virus that we are still learning a lot about. And that means, again, making sure that your milk is pasteurized now more than ever."
On Tuesday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, alongside the state's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, sent out a release backing Bagdasarian's conclusions.
And while many officials believe the risk to the general public is low, there are other things as well that you can do to keep yourself as safe as possible.
"So, for example, when you're dealing with raw meat, raw poultry, to make sure that you're cleaning those surfaces in your kitchen very well, that you're washing your hands with soap and water after touching raw meat or poultry, that you're cooking your eggs, that you're making sure, again, that you have good hand hygiene in the kitchen," Bagdasarian said.
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