Beef tissue from a sick cow tests positive for avian influenza virus
Bovine tissue from a sick dairy cow tested positive for the avian influenza virus, federal officials said Friday.According to the US Department of Agriculture, the cow was ordered to be slaughtered because it was sick and the meat was not included in the food supply. The department continued to emphasize that the commercial food supply remained secure.But the positive test, which is part of an ongoing federal study on the safety of beef, raises concerns that the virus could enter the commercial beef supply, posing a risk to human health.So far the virus, known as H5N1, has only been detected in dairy cattle and not in beef cattle raised for meat. But experts believe the outbreak is larger than the official count of 58 affected dairy farms in nine states.“It is clear that this situation i...