Avian flu virus in raw milk … and other research

Avian flu and milk pasteurisationAn outbreak of avian flu in dairy farms in the US has led to three confirmed cases in humans. The first case is thought to be due to infected milk splashing into the eye. A letter in the New England Journal of Medicine describes an experiment to measure the inactivation of the H5N1 avian flu virus in milk when pasteurised. The authors found that heating milk spiked with H5N1 to 72°C—the typical temperature for pasteurisation—led to a rapid reduction in infectious virus, which remained detectable for only 20 seconds. However, with the minimum time for pasteurisation at this temperature being only 15 seconds, the authors call for more research on H5N1 in dairy production including in real world conditions with milk from infected cows.N Engl J Med doi:10.1056/NEJMc24054Colchicine for strokeColchicine tablets cost about 2 pence each, so finding funding for a large randomised controlled trial that…
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