WASHINGTON — Canadian government officials said samples of commercially sold milk as of May 14 have shown "no evidence" of H5N1 bird flu after enhanced testing aimed at alleviating Canadians concerns following the virus' detection in some US dairy cattle.

Dairy cattle in nine US states have been found to have the virus, prompting warnings to dairy workers even as the threat to the general population is considered low.

As of Tuesday, Canadian Food Inspection Agency laboratories found no evidence of disease after testing 142 retail milk samples from across the country, the government of Canada said

Why it’s important

Canadian inspectors already tightened import requirements on US breeding cattle this month after the first confirmed case of the H5N1 virus in a dairy herd in March and only the second human case in two years was identified in a dairy farm worker in April, raising concerns about the spread of the virus to animals and people.

READ MORE: Risk of bird flu spreading to cows outside US, says WHO

Key quote

"We understand that Canadians may be concerned about the safety of milk and milk products... The method used to test foods for (H5N1) is very sensitive and will detect fragments of the virus, even if the virus is not infectious," the Canadian government said in a notice posted on Tuesday.

READ MORE: US detects avian flu in milk, says dairy supplies are safe

Context

As of Tuesday, Canadian Food Inspection Agency laboratories found no evidence of disease after testing 142 retail milk samples from across the country, the government of Canada said. The US Food and Drug Administration has also tested milk samples and said it found no signs of live virus but cautioned against drinking unpasteurized raw milk.