The World Health Organization has voiced concerns about high levels of avian influenza virus in milk of infected cattle in the United States and India and is cautioning the public to only consume milk and dairy products that have been pasteurized.
So far there have been no reports of Canadian dairy cattle being infected, but the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has asked veterinarians to watch for outbreaks. It took a while for the United States to realize that a mystery disease affecting dairy cattle was avian influenza.
In India, cows have apparently been infected by ducks stricken by the virus. Health officials there have stepped up their lab facilities and testing.
In the United States, the first cows detected with the disease were in Texas where the only person infected so far worked on a farm. It has since been detected in dairy cows in several states.
