Can You Get Bird Flu From Raw Milk?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has always advised against drinking raw milk, but the agency is reminding consumers to avoid unpasteurized dairy products because of the current bird flu outbreak in cattle herds.

Clinical samples of raw milk from states including Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas have tested positive for the virus. Multiple domestic cats have died after drinking raw milk and colostrum from infected cows, according to a recent report.

The FDA has found that commercially available milk, cottage cheese, and sour cream contain fragments of the bird flu virus. Although additional testing didn’t detect any live, infectious virus in pasteurized products, health experts say to steer clear of raw milk in the meantime.

“Raw milk, to me, is a very scary thing. I even recommend those who are feeding milk to their calves to pasteurize it. It’s a very known, tested way to enhance food safety and security,” Michael D. Kleinhenz, DVM, PhD, a dairy cattle veterinarian and a clinical associate professor at Texas A&M University, told Verywell.

Why Is Raw Milk Risky?

Testing has shown that pasteurization is effective in inactivating the bird flu virus. Pasteurization, which uses high temperatures to kill germs, has significantly reduced infection rates from various diseases since its widespread adoption in the United States during the 1950s.

It remains uncertain if raw milk can transmit the bird flu virus to humans, but unpasteurized milk is known to harbor dangerous pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria.

It’s legal to buy raw milk in 27 states, and advocates say it’s healthier and more nutritious than pasteurized milk. However, there’s no strong evidence to support these claims, and pasteurization does not destroy the nutritional value of milk.

Raw milk contributes to hundreds of infections in the U.S. each year. Between 1998 and 2008, more than 2,600 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations were associated with raw milk, according to a study published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection.

“I think it’s a step backward to continue to promote unpasteurized milk. I think the health benefits do not outweigh the disease risk benefits,” said Scott R.R. Haskell, DVM, MPVM, PhD, a food safety expert and a professor at the Institute for Food Laws and Regulations at Michigan State University.

Can You Get Bird Flu From Raw Milk?

Only two cases of bird flu infections in humans have been reported in this outbreak. Infected individuals may have no symptoms or experience mild or severe upper respiratory symptoms, fever, body aches, fatigue, sore throat, nausea, diarrhea, or pink eye.

Both cases involved close animal contact, not consumption of infected food, and the risk of infection for the general public remains low. Haskell said that people don’t need to worry about contracting bird flu from eggs, milk, or meat.

“I’m very concerned about non-pasteurized milk for Salmonella and E. coli. But I’m not really that concerned about avian influenza,” Haskell said.

The FDA has advised manufacturers against using raw milk from exposed or sick cows for any dairy products. While scientists are still learning if raw milk can transmit bird flu to humans, many experts say it's simply not worth the risk, especially for children and immunocompromised individuals.

“Cattle may be infected with avian influenza. And if they’re drinking raw milk, they may be drinking live virus in that milk. They don’t have that protection mechanism of pasteurization to inactivate that virus and render it dead essentially,” Kleinhenz said.