By Ryan Hanrahan
Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported at the end of this past week that “the U.S. issued a federal order on Friday mandating that the national milk supply be tested for bird flu, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters, as authorities seek to grapple with rapid spread of the virus among dairy herds.”
“The USDA first announced it would begin national milk testing in October after a push from industry and veterinary groups for stronger surveillance of the virus, but had not detailed the extent of the program or how it would be implemented,” Douglas reported. “The testing plan, which will involve monthly or weekly sample collection from bulk milk tanks and dairy processors, will be rolled out first in California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Oregon, Vilsack said.The latter three states have not reported bird flu infections in dairy cattle.”
“‘It gives us the opportunity to get potentially a heads up about potentially new virus in areas of a state that currently has the virus, or new states,’ Vilsack said of the testing,” Douglas reported.
“The agency will begin the testing on Dec. 16, Vilsack said,” according to Douglas’ reporting. “The pace of testing will depend on whether virus is detected in initial sampling, said Rosemary Sifford, USDA’s chief veterinarian. The order requires farms and processors to make raw milk available for sampling, and farm owners whose animals test positive for the virus to tell the agency about animal movements and other information.”
“The USDA currently only requires testing of lactating dairy cattle moving across state lines, a requirement laid out in its only other federal bird flu order issued in April,” Douglas reported. “Both federal orders will remain in effect indefinitely, Vilsack said, adding that the testing plan was developed with industry groups, state officials and veterinarians.”
Bird Flu Infections Seeing Winter Uptick
Douglas reported that, overall, “bird flu has infected more than 500 dairy herds in top milk state California, and more than 700 nationwide since March, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, raising concerns of the impact to farmers and the milk supply as well as the risk to human health from ongoing spread. Nearly 60 people have contracted the virus since April, most of them workers on infected poultry and dairy farms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
And in recent days, bird flu infections and probable infections in both flocks and humans seem to have seen a slight uptick.
The North Dakota Monitor reported on Dec. 4 that “the first cases of bird flu during the fall migration have been confirmed in three North Dakota counties. The North Dakota Department of Agriculture on Wednesday said it has received confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a backyard chicken flock in McHenry County, a commercial turkey flock in Ransom County and a backyard mixed flock in Bottineau County.”
In Iowa, the Des Moines Register reported on Dec. 8 that “for the second time in three days after a nearly 5 1/2-month lapse, the Iowa Department of Agriculture on Sunday reported an outbreak in a commercial poultry flock. The highly pathogenic avian influenza infection was detected in a turkey flock in Palo Alto County in northwest Iowa. The one Friday was in a commercial flock of laying hens in Sioux County.”
And in Arizona, the Arizona Republic’s Stephanie Innes and Lauren De Young reported on Dec. 6 that “Arizona is reporting its first two probable human cases of bird flu in Pinal County workers who were exposed to infected poultry. The infected individuals reported mild symptoms, received treatment and recovered, officials with the Arizona Department of Health Services said Friday.”
“State health officials emphasize that there is no evidence that human-to-human transmission of bird flu — avian influenza H5N1 — is happening in Arizona or anywhere in the U.S. to date,” Innes and De Young reported. “The risk to the general public from H5N1 remains low, according to state health officials, though some infectious disease experts have raised alarm bells about bird flu and its potential for an outbreak in humans.”
Source : illinois.edu