Bird flu: Milk testing across the US to stop H5N1
H5N1 bird flu in dairy cows continues to make headlines, with the US Department of Agriculture having recently announced raw milk testing to commence across the US.
On 6 December, the USDA announced the New Federal Order will require national milk testing and support state officials and dairy regulators to protect farms, farmworkers and communities from H5N1 avian influenza, also known as bird flu.
Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack added: “This new milk testing strategy will build on those steps to date and will provide a roadmap for states to protect the health of their dairy herds[…]. This will give farmers and farmworkers better confidence in the safety of their animals and ability to protect themselves, and it will put us on a path to quickly controlling and stopping the virus’ spread nationwide.”
With this, the USDA is further expanding biosecurity measures. This Federal Order has 3 new requirements:
- It requires the sharing of raw milk samples, upon request, from any entity responsible for a dairy farm, bulk milk transporter, bulk milk transfer station, or dairy processing facility that sends or holds milk intended for pasteurisation.
- Herd owners with positive cattle should provide epidemiological information that enables activities such as contact tracing and disease surveillance.
- It requires that private laboratories and state veterinarians report positive results to the USDA that come from tests done on raw milk samples drawn as part of the NMTS.
The first round of silo testing under the Federal Order and the NMTS is scheduled to begin the week of 16 December 2024, although some states are already conducting testing compatible with the NMTS.
This new Federal Order is in combination with the USDA’s 24 April Federal Order, which requires compulsory testing of milking cows before they are moved to another state. It highlights that this new Federal Order should “complement and enhance this existing order”.
The first states that will brought into the programme for testing initially will be California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in dairy cattle was first detected in March 2024. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 700 dairy herds have been infected across the US since March.
For more information, visit the USDA
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