In Experiments, Mice Got Ill From Raw Milk Carrying Bird Flu Virus

FRIDAY, May 24, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Confirming the dangers of drinking raw cow's milk when the H5N1 avian flu virus is circulating in U.S. dairy herds, researchers found that mice fed the milk quickly got ill.

"Our data indicate that HPAI A[H5N1] virus in untreated milk can infect susceptible animals that consume it," concluded a team led by virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka, of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His team published the findings Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine.