USDA says bird flu detected in beef tissue for the first time, but beef is safe to eat

The U.S. Department of

Agriculture announced Friday that bird flu has been detected in beef for the first time, but officials said an infected dairy cow is not allowed to enter the nation's food supply and the beef Safe to eat.

The USDA said the H5N1 virus was found as part of testing of 96 dairy cows that were removed from the supply because federal inspectors found signs of the disease during routine inspections of carcasses at meat processing plants. Only one of these cows was found to have bird flu.

Bird flu It has been confirmed in dairy cattle herds. In nine states, it has been done Found in milk And has led to the slaughter of millions of chickens and turkeys. But finding it in beef is a new development for the outbreak, which began in 2022.

The agency said last month it would test ground beef for bird flu at retail stores. But so far no trace of him has been found of the virus.

Even if bird flu ends up in consumer beef, the USDA says that cooking the meat to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill it just as it kills E. coli and other viruses. kills

Two farmers Dairies in Michigan and Texas were sick with bird flu. this spring. Danger to the public remains low, but health officials said farm workers exposed to infected animals are at greater risk.

Only one other human case of bird flu has been confirmed in the U.S. in 2022, picked up by an inmate in a work program killing infected birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado. His only symptom was fatigue, and he recovered.