Raw Farms LLC in Fresno, CA, formerly known as Organic Pastures, serves the largest raw milk markets in the county. It is no surprise that multiple batches of Raw Farms raw milk have tested positive for the avian flu virus.
The dairy has been ordered to recall two batches of it’s raw milk because of positive tests for bird flu. Pasteurized milk is safe from the avian flu virus but unpasteurized raw milk is not.
According to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those California batches of raw milk were contaminated with the bird flu virus. It reports that:
H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows. Several recent human cases have been reported in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.
While the current public health risk is low, the CDC is monitoring the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people exposed to animals.
The CDC uses its surveillance systems to monitor for H5 bird flu activity in people.
In the past 30 days, there have been 263 confirmed cattle cases in Nevada and California. Raw Farm is central to the state’s dairy farm outbreaks, which have been ongoing since August.
Since one case was previously detected in a poultry worker in Colorado in 2022, 58 cases of avian flu in humans have been recorded in the United States.
Recent cases states report include 1 case with dairy cow exposure in California and 3 cases with poultry exposure in Washington. Confirmatory testing at the CDC for these cases was negative.
Here’s how detections in animals currently stand:
- 10,672 wild birds detected as of 12/3/2024 | Full Report
- 51 jurisdictions with bird flu in wild birds
- 112 million poultry affected as of 12/3/2024 | Full Report
- 49 states with outbreaks of poultry
- 695 dairy herds affected as of 12/3/2024 | Full Report
- 15 states with outbreaks of dairy cows
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