Local health officials are investigating a suspected bird flu case in California’s Marin County to determine if the illness was caused by consuming raw milk, as they once again issued a warning about the dangers of consuming unpasteurized dairy products—a practice that has been promoted by many online influences and right-wing figures, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Raw milk from Raw Farm is displayed for sale at a grocery store in Torrance, California.
In an announcement, Marin County public health officials said they were investigating a suspected case of bird flu in a child “who experienced fever and vomiting after drinking raw milk.”
The child has since recovered from his illness, and no other family members have become sick, which indicates there was likely no human-to-human transmission.
The county’s health office is working with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine if the illness was caused by consuming raw milk.
The child tested positive for the Influenza A virus—a group that covers several flu viruses—and the viral sample has been sent to a public health laboratory for serotype testing to determine if it is the H5N1 bird flu virus, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The report added that other members of the child’s family had consumed smaller amounts of the same raw milk with their coffee, but all of them tested negative for influenza.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
It is unclear if the case is linked to the batches of recalled raw milk in which traces of the bird flu virus were detected. Raw Farm, a Fresno-based dairy farm, issued a voluntary recall for its raw milk products after health officials detected the virus in samples of the product collected from retail stores. Health officials have since suspended the sale of all raw milk products from Raw Farms, after detecting the virus in bottled products and bulk milk storage at the company’s bottling facility. A spokesperson for the CDPH told the Los Angeles Times that since the recall was announced, local health experts have “received reports of illnesses from 10 individuals who reported drinking raw milk.”
The CDPH said consuming unpasteurized milk raised the risk of contracting food borne illnesses from pathogens like Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, toxin-producing E. coli, Brucella and Campylobacter. In its guide about the measures people can take to guard against the H5 bird flu virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control notes: “People should not eat or drink raw milk or products made with raw milk.” Milk can be made safe to consume through a simple process known as pasteurization, which involves “heating milk to a high enough temperature for a certain length of time” to kill any dangerous pathogens. The CDC notes that pasteurized milk offers the same nutritional benefits without the risk of raw milk.