September 26, 2024

The FDA is providing an update about ongoing research efforts it is undertaking to help ensure the safety of dairy products during the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) virus in dairy cattle and to work towards reducing the threat of H5N1 to human and animal health.

Since outlining the FDA’s research objectives in summer 2024 through the FDA’s research agenda, the FDA has continued collaborating with our federal and academic partners to conduct the imperative work to understand the effectiveness of inactivation methods and further assure the safety of retail dairy products. Through FDA H5N1 funding and in cooperation with Cornell University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, National Institutes of Health Rocky Mountain Laboratories (NIH-RML) and Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (NIH-CEIRR) partners, the University of Georgia and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the FDA is advancing the following applied research:

Thermal Inactivation Kinetic Studies: In collaboration with Cornell University, NIH-RML, and the University of Georgia, the FDA will determine the effects of various time and temperature combinations outside of standard pasteurization parameters and temperature combinations on H5N1 viability in fluid milk that will allow objective risk assessments of various dairy product manufacturing processes.

Viral Inactivation Studies: In collaboration with Cornell University, the FDA will assess H5N1 inactivation under different aged raw milk cheese manufacturing processes.

H5N1 Viability Testing: The FDA has partnered with Cornell University, the University of Georgia, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to provide H5N1 virus viability testing as needed.

One Health Interventions: In collaboration with Cornell University, the FDA will investigate practical disposal measures for raw milk waste. In collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the FDA will explore the development of genome-edited chickens to reduce susceptibility or provide resistance to H5N1 and other avian viruses.

The FDA, alongside its partners, expects to share further updates on these research efforts in the coming months. We continue to affirm the safety of the commercial milk supply by ongoing sampling and testing of retail dairy products. The agency remains committed to taking a stepwise approach to its scientific analysis of the safety of the commercial milk supply and interventions that reduce human and animal health risks.