The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has mandated the testing of raw milk for bird flu, specifically the H5N1 avian influenza virus, following an outbreak in dairy herds reported in March.
Under the new USDA order, raw milk samples must be shared upon request by dairy farms, bulk milk transporters, or dairy processing facilities.
The big picture: Herd owners with cattle that test positive for bird flu are required to provide information for contact tracing and disease surveillance, and private laboratories and state veterinarians must report positive results to the USDA.
- The USDA’s first round of testing under the new order is scheduled to begin on December 16. This action is a response to the bird flu viruses being found in cows, with the number of affected dairy herds now surpassing 700.
Driving the news: The California Department of Public Health issued a recall for whole raw milk from Raw Farm, LLC in Fresno after the virus was detected. This was following confirmation of bird flu in a California child, marking the first reported case in a U.S. minor.
- The outbreak prompted the USDA to mandate nationwide raw milk testing in order to provide preliminary surveillance and data collection. The goal is to ensure better confidence in the safety of animals and to control and stop the spread of the virus nationwide.
State of play: As of Friday, there have been 58 confirmed total reported human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
What they’re saying: “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,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Among many outcomes, 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.”
