Guest Columns

Perspective:
Cheese Technology

Effective ways to curb H5N1 virus infecting dairy, poultry

Dr. Mali Reddy

Dr. Mali Reddy serves as president of the American Dairy and Food Consulting Laboratories and International Media and Cultures (IMAC Inc.), Denver, Colorado. He holds several degrees including Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in food technology and microbiology. He is a guest columnist for this week’s issue of Cheese Market News®.

The H5N1 virus — commonly known as “bird flu” — originally started in birds and has now spread to cattle and alarmingly to humans as a zoonotic disease, resulting in the loss of billions of dollars in culled livestock and lost sales. Although this article is written for the benefit of the dairy industry (both farming and product manufacturing), I would like to also address methods to control bird flu in poultry farming to prevent the downhill spread to dairy farms and humans. The critical factor in any prevention strategy is employee education regarding the genesis, spread and control of H5N1. A well-informed and proactive employee is the greatest asset to the protection of the food industry.

• Dairy farming: Protecting dairy herds from H5N1

All established hygienic practices must be followed strictly, including the following:
• Workers must sanitize their foot wear;
• Employee clothing, especially outer garments, must be sanitized;
• All employees must wear gloves and periodically dip them in a 500-1000 PPM chlorine sanitizing solution;
• The number of animals in housing sheds should be reduced to prevent overcrowding;
• Cow manure and waste must be periodically removed and disposed properly;
• Animal feeds should be nutritionally well-balanced to improve immunity; and
• Mold growth should be eliminated to minimize mold toxins using mold inhibitors and toxin-imbibing agents such as bentonite.

Lastly, it is good practice to include proprietary probiotic bacteria along with immunomodulins in feed to enhance immunity in the cows, with specific attention given to the positive effects of probiotics to inactivate viruses, which are outlined in U.S. Patent #11,077,052 B1. Modification of some of the formulas outlined in the patent should work for ruminants as well. In addition, both the barn and milking areas must be sprayed with virucidal agents to inactivate the naked RNA of the H5N1 virus, as outlined in U.S. Patent #11,643,641 B2, with slight modifications.

Employees should be warned not to visit neighboring poultry farms to avoid viral exposure and transmission.

Employees with bird flu symptoms should not handle any operations at the dairy farm. It is imperative that the raw milk in bulk tanks is inoculated with a milk silo culture to activate the lactoperoxidase (LP) system, which inactivates viruses and pathogenic bacteria (U.S. patent #5,876,990). Such commercially available cultures are safe, technically sound and can be used safely at the farm level. (More details on the LP system can be found in one of my former guest columns at www.cheesemarketnews.com/guestcolumn/2013/22nov13_02.html.)

With regard to the LP system, the LP enzyme is naturally present in raw milk at an approximate concentration of 30 milligrams per liter, whereas thiocyanate in raw milk is 8 mg/liter or 8 PPM. The only element absent in raw milk to activate the LP system is hydrogen peroxide, which can only be produced by food grade microorganisms and their natural enzymes; one to 10 PPM is sufficient for the activation of the LP system.

The end product of the LP system is natural hypothiocyanite, which is inhibitory to several pathogenic bacteria and viruses in raw milk. We should take advantage of these built-in natural bacterial and viral inhibitory properties of raw milk.

• Dairy product manufacturing facilities

The following precautions must be undertaken at fluid milk plants and dairy product manufacturing facilities to eliminate H5N1 bird flu virus.

Hypothetically, assuming that the raw milk is contaminated with the H5N1 virus, before the milk is pumped into the silos, it should be inoculated using milk silo cultures to activate the LP system. Pasteurization temperatures must be strictly adhered to accentuate the activated LP system to further inactivate pathogenic and spoilage-type bacteria and viruses, including the ones that are embedded and thus protected in the leucocytes.

Cheese vats, cheesemaking equipment, equipment to process fluid milk, cultured buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, whey products and further including surrounding floors, walls and ceilings must all be sanitized routinely using proper strength sanitizers. The use of active bulk starters along with their immunomodulins or growth end products are preferable to inactivate viruses, which may gain access as post-pasteurization contaminants. Cheesemakers and whey plant operators should not be allowed to go into the milk receiving area, and the sanitation of brine tanks cannot be ignored. In addition, packaging crew and shred plant operators must be taught to follow strict sanitation principles established by the management. The dairy product manufacturing, packaging and shredding areas must all be sprayed with virucidal agent, which can totally inactivate the H5N1 viral genome as outlined in U.S. Patent #11,643,641 B2. Employees who attend poultry operations in their spare time or at home should not be allowed to work at the dairy processing plant.

• Poultry farming

Since farm operations may include both dairy and poultry farming in the U.S. and Europe (at least located in the vicinity), zoonotic viral infections such as H5N1 should be curbed primarily at the poultry operation to protect dairy animals. Both broilers and egg-layers have to be paid utmost attention to, as so far 160 million birds have been killed due to H5N1. The reason for this viral infection is due to a depressed or lowered immune system in the birds. A depressed immune system can be due to nutritional deficiencies and/or comorbid diseases and/or dysbiosis and/or environmental factors. Nutritional deficiencies have to be corrected by undertaking superior nutritional measures. Comorbid diseases such as chronic bacterial infections due to pathogenic bacteria and parasitic infections due to coccidiosis have to be treated promptly.

By undertaking these proven preventative and treatment modalities, we can override the growing bird flu epidemic in the food industry. Pizza is the most consumed food item in U.S., which has been ranked at number one for the past four decades, which uses mostly Italian cheeses such as Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan and Romano, which represent roughly 50% of total U.S. cheese production. Next in the order of priority, after cheese, are meat and poultry products on pizza, thus, it is imperative that we protect this sector of the food business from the devastating effect of bird flu by undertaking proactive and reactive measures to prevent major interruption in the food chain and also the health of consumers.

CMN

The views expressed by CMN’s guest columnists are their own opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of Cheese Market News®.

© 2025 Cheese Market News • Quarne Publishing, LLC • Legal Information • Online Privacy Policy • Terms and Conditions
Cheese Market News • Business/Advertising Office: P.O. Box 628254 • Middleton, WI 53562 • 608/831-6002
Cheese Market News • Editorial Office: 5315 Wall Street, Suite 100 • Madison, WI 53718 • 608/288-9090