No Evidence of Anti-Influenza Nucleoprotein Antibodies in Retail Milk from Across Canada (April–July 2024)
Following reports of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 infections of dairy cattle in the United States in March 2024, we established a Pan-Canadian Milk network to monitor retail milk in Canada. Milk samples from across Canada that had previously tested negative for influenza A virus (IAV) RNA were tested for the presence of anti-IAV nucleoprotein (NP) antibodies as an indicator of past infection of dairy cattle. None of the 109 milk samples tested had evidence of anti-IAV NP antibodies. This is consistent with previous findings from our academic group as well as others including federal testing initiatives that have not found any IAV RNA in milk. Although not surprising given that no cases of H5N1 in cattle have been reported in Canada to date, this work further supports that the extensive outbreak in dairy cattle in the United States has not extended northward into Canada, and the integrity of the Canadian milk supply remains intact.
Authors
- Ryan S. Noyce (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9463-7314)
- Jason Kindrachuk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3305-7084)
- Angela L. Rasmussen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9462-3169)
- Jordan Wight (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7405-0911)
- Hannah L. Wallace (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4615-7137)
- Tom C. Hobman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5744-3545)
- Selena M. Sagan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8484-3632)
- Jumari Snyman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4647-8934)
- Jeffrey B. Joy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7013-1482)
- Mariana Baz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1230-0735)
- Anne W. Rimoin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0662-9067)
- Barbara Dowding
- François Jean (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6148-7460)
- Rodney S. Russell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0051-746X)
- Sonya A. MacParland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8036-1425)
- Andrew S. Lang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4510-7683)
- Louis Flamand (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5010-4586)
- Craig McCormick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2794-3722)
- Isaac I. Bogoch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1590-6748)
- Gabriela J. Rzeszutek
- Mustafa S. Jafri
Institutions
- University of New Brunswick (CA)
- Dalhousie University (CA)
- Memorial University of Newfoundland (CA)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- Public Health Agency of Canada (CA)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- UCLA Health (US)
- Saint John Regional Hospital (CA)
- Toronto General Hospital (CA)
- University of Saskatchewan (CA)
- AIDS Vancouver (CA)
- Schwartz/Reisman Emergency Medicine Institute (CA)
- Université Laval (CA)
- University of Manitoba (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Viral Immunology
- Published
- 2025-06-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1089/vim.2025.0029
- Primary Topic
- Influenza Virus Research Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00