The H5NI avian flu virus has not shown any signs of changing to spread from person to person, according to the World Health Organisation.
Only one person in the United States has been reported to have the bird flu out of the millions of dairy cattle affected by the outbreak.
At least 220 people are being watched and 30 have been tested for the virus.
The Director-General of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus mentioned at a news conference on Wednesday that it's important to test or monitor everyone exposed to infected animals and provide care if necessary.
The virus has not shown signs of adapting to spread among humans so far, but more monitoring is necessary, as per the urgent request from the chief of WHO.
The WHO head also stated that early tests indicate that pasteurization destroys the virus, even though it has been found in raw milk in the US.
He emphasized WHO's recommendation for people to consume pasteurized milk.
Pasteurization is a heat treatment method for milk that reduces the number of potential harmful microorganisms to levels where they don't pose a significant health risk, and it also extends the milk's usable lifespan.
Ghebreyesus also noted that based on available information, WHO continues to evaluate the public health risk posed by H5N1 avian influenza as low-to-moderate for people exposed to infected animals.
He added that the agency has a system for monitoring influenza worldwide through a network of centers in 130 countries, seven collaborating centers, and 12 reference laboratories with the necessary capacities and biosafety requirements to handle H5 viruses.
He mentioned the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, which aims to aid the rapid development and fair distribution of vaccines in the event of an influenza pandemic.
In recent years, H5N1 has spread widely among various animals, including wild birds, poultry, and marine mammals, and now among dairy cattle.
Since 2021, there have been 28 reported cases in humans, with no documented human-to-human transmission.
The outbreak in the United States has affected 36 dairy herds in nine states so far.
NAN
