Dairy Cows Must Be Tested for Bird Flu Before Moving Between States: USDA

Dairy cows cannot be moved between states without testing for the highly pathogenic avian influenza, U.S. officials announced on April 24.

A strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza A, H5N1, has been spreading across the country since first being detected in cows in March. The influenza is commonly known as the bird flu.

The order, which takes effect on April 29, covers lactating dairy cattle.

Testing requirements for other dairy cows “will be based on scientific factors concerning the virus and its evolving risk profile,” the USDA said.

The testing must be done by an approved National Animal Health Laboratory Network lab.

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Owners of herds that contain cows that test positive will be required to provide epidemiological information to authorities, including information on where the cows have been, authorities said.

Testing of cows for the bird flu has to present only been done on a voluntary basis. Farmers had been directed to only test cows displaying symptoms, such as decreased appetite.

As of Wednesday, 33 herds across eight states, including Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas, have tested positive for the bird flu.

The USDA is also mandating that labs and state veterinarians report positive Influenza A test results from livestock to the agency.

The flu had been circulating in birds domestically before infecting cattle and goats.

The steps came after the USDA said the virus has spread between cows, including cows that have not shown symptoms.

“The novel movement of H5N1 between wild birds and dairy cows requires further testing and time to develop a critical understanding to support any future courses of action,” the USDA said in a statement. “This federal order is critical to increasing the information available for USDA. Requiring positive test reporting will help USDA better under this disease and testing before interstate movement will limit its spread.”

One person was confirmed this year to have contracted the bird flu after being in close contact with sickened cows in Texas.

Authorities say the risk to the public is low and testing of the flu samples has uncovered no signs that the virus has changed to make it more transmissible to people or among people.

Bird flu cases have rarely appeared among humans in the United States but hundreds have been confirmed worldwide since 2003. Through April 1, out of 889 cases across 23 countries, 463 resulted in death, according to the World Health Organization.

If that happens, then it’s crucial to quickly respond with vaccines, testing, and treatments, he said.

Several vaccines against H5N1 have already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but manufacturers would need to receive fresh clearance for updated formulations, an agency spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

There’s so far been few deaths among cows that tested positive for the influenza, according to the USDA. Some have already been cleared and started producing milk again for commercial consumption.

For now, authorities say drinking pasteurized milk is safe.

Bird flu was initially confirmed in raw milk from cows with the virus and authorities had claimed no milk with the influenza would enter the food supply due to measures such as pasteurization.

Regulators declined to say from which states or states the milk that tested positive came.

This is a developing story that will be updated.