FEDS Increase Testing of Cows and Milk Products Due to H5N1 Flu

By Chris Clayton

SDA will require testing of lactating dairy cows crossing state lines for the H5N1 virus after fragments of the virus were found in tests of commercial dairy products.

QUICK DETAILS

-- USDA is now going to require H5N1 testing for all lactating dairy cows moving across state lines.

-- USDA also will mandate that laboratories and state veterinarians report all positive influenza A tests in livestock to USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

-- FDA is now doing much broader testing of dairy products nationally to determine the extent of H5N1 fragments in pasteurized dairy products.

-- FDA said H5N1 is neutralized by pasteurizing. They have been testing H5N1 in chicken eggs and the heat needed to destroy the virus in chicken eggs is lower than pasteurizing.

-- CDC says there is a low risk to human health and has seen no increase in foodborne illnesses.

ORDER ON CATTLE MOVEMENT

USDA is issuing an order Thursday that will go into effect April 29 requiring dairy farmers sending lactating cows across state lines to have those cows tested for H5N1 before they can move. The testing at USDA labs would likely take one to three days, though USDA is looking to develop more rapid tests that can be used in the field, said Mike Watson, administrator for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Producers with cows that test positive will be required to provide epidemiological information on those cows, including animal movement tracing information, especially if they intend to move the cattle across state lines.

Cows that test positive would remain on their home farms and then be retested in 30 days before they could move across state lines, Watson said. He repeated that the virus is not fatal for cows, and they mostly recover quickly.

"We believe the current risk to the public is low and we continue to see infected cows recover after supportive care with little to no associated mortality," Watson said.

Watson and FDA officials indicated there have been situations where dairy farms have been reluctant to allow officials on their farms to test cattle. "That has been improving most recently," he said.

In another security measure, USDA's federal order will require labs and state veterinarians to report any positive influenza A cases in livestock to APHIS.

So far, USDA has reported 33 dairy herds in eight states have been confirmed as infected by USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories. The latest was another Idaho dairy on April 19.

Vilsack said the focus remains on lactating dairy cows because that is when cows are testing positive. Vilsack also said USDA will cover the costs of the tests.

The testing order does not apply to beef cattle and USDA so far has not found any positive H5N1 infections in beef cattle.

At least one dairy cow going to slaughter was asymptomatic, but USDA tested the cow's lung and it came back positive. The cow was condemned and did not enter the food supply.