The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that bird flu, also known as H5N1, has been found in raw milk, which is milk that does not go through standard pasteurization processes to rid it of bacteria.
Officials said that pasteurized milk, which is standard in major retailers, is still safe.
Bird flu has surged in cows and chickens throughout the US, with animals in 29 farms across eight states becoming affected, according to the CDC.
Last week, Dr Darin Detwiler, former FDA and USDA food safety advisor, told DailyMail.com that Americans should avoid rare meat and runny eggs while the outbreak in cattle was ongoing, as improperly cooked animal products are more likely to carry viruses and bacteria.
Avian influenza A(H5N1) first emerged in 1996 but since 2020, the number of outbreaks in birds has grown exponentially, alongside an increase in the number of infected mammals.
The strain has led to the deaths of tens of millions of poultry, with wild birds and land and marine mammals also infected.
Cows and goats joined the list last month - a surprising development for experts because they were not thought to be susceptible to this type of influenza.
Earlier this month, a dairy farm worker in Texas became the second-ever American to become infected with bird flu. The CDC states that the patient had a 'mild' infection with just one symptom - inflammation of the eye - and has reported to be isolated and 'recovering well.'
They are also being treated with the drug oseltamivir, or Tamiflu, and are not thought to have passed the virus on to anyone else.
Dr Wenqing Zhang, head of the WHO's global influenza program, said: 'The case in Texas is the first case of a human infected by avian influenza by a cow.'
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