US National Institutes of Health scientists warn that drinking raw milk infected with H5N1 or bird flu, probably won’t kill you, but will make you infectious.
In a study published in the research journal Nature researchers describe how they fed unpasteurized raw milk infected with bovine H5N1 to six macaque monkey and compared them to macaques who were exposed to the virus via the nose (six monkey) or throat (six monkeys).
H5N1 Bird flu in raw milk infects monkeys
Monkeys who got the virus via the windpipe fared the worst, suffering a severe respiratory infection within a week. The nose infected macaques developed a mild infection that peaked after around ten days, and the milk fed monkeys developed an infection, but they didn’t show typical flu symptoms.
While that might be good news for the infected monkeys, it’s bad news for the rest of us. As we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, no symptoms does not mean you are not infectious.
Super Spreaders?
People who drink unpasteurised milk containing H5N1 virus could become comfortable incubators for the virus. Viral particles can camp out in their gastric and intestinal epithelium multiplying and making their way into the wider world through the same route as our digested food… Yep you guessed it, onto door handles, faucets, items in shops and train straps.
The CDC is working on getting H5N1 tests to US regional testing centres, so let’s all hope their supply lines are better than those of raw milk distributors.
A picture of a virus
On the upside, here’s a photo of the H5N1 flu virus (yellow) hanging out in epithelial cells (purple). Researchers captured this image using an electron microscope and applies pseudo colours to the structures so that you can easily see the virus.
Credit: CDC and NIAID taken from press release Subclinical Disease in Monkeys Exposed to H5N1 by Mouth and Stomach | NIAID: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. January 15, 2025. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/news-events/h5n1-nhp
Subclinical Disease in Monkeys Exposed to H5N1 by Mouth and Stomach | NIAID: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. January 15, 2025. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/news-events/h5n1-nhp
Rosenke K, Giffin A, Kaiser F, et al. Pathogenesis of bovine H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b infection in Macaques. Nature. Published online January 15, 2025:1-3. doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08609-8
