WHO says the current public health risk from bird flu is ‘low’

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that the overall risk to public health from the recent flu, A(H5N1), is “low”. Azernieuws reports Anadolu Agency.

However, for those exposed to infected birds, animals or contaminated environments, the risk of infection is “considered low to moderate,” according to a statement.

It stressed that the risk assessment could change as the UN agency learns more.

“The virus has been found in milk and its possible role in transmission is under investigation,” said the report, which advised people to consume pasteurized and not raw milk.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently said that one in five commercial milk samples tested in a nationwide study contained particles of the H5N1 virus.

Bird flu was first identified in Texas flocks in March, and subsequent findings indicated the presence of the virus in more than a dozen additional flocks in eight US states.

The latest data on milk samples shows the outbreak in the US is more widespread than previously thought.

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