The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new federal order Friday, Dec. 6. The new order requires the collection and sharing of raw, unpasteurized milk samples nationwide for testing of H5N1, also known as bird flu.
The order mandates entities responsible for dairy farms, bulk milk transporters, bulk milk transfer stations or dairy processing facilities that send or hold milk intended for pasteurization to provide raw milk samples upon request.
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Additionally, herd owners with cattle testing positive for H5N1 must supply epidemiological information to assist with contact tracing and disease surveillance.
The USDA stated that the goal is to monitor H5N1, which has been affecting hundreds of dairy herds nationwide.
“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,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release.
Vilsack told Reuters the testing plan will involve monthly or weekly sample collection from bulk milk tanks and dairy processors, beginning Dec. 16 in California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Oregon.
The USDA first announced in April the required testing for lactating cows moving across state lines. In October, the agency expanded the national milk testing program to include bulk milk sampling at the regional level, with additional farm-level testing if necessary, until herds in a given area are determined to be free of the virus.
As of Thursday, Dec. 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported more than 700 dairy herds in 15 states have been infected with H5N1.
Nearly 60 people in the U.S. have contracted the virus. However, officials noted the majority of these cases involved farmworkers who had direct contact with livestock.
Health officials emphasize there’s currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the virus.
However, as Straight Arrow News reported Friday, Dec. 6, a newly published study suggests that bird flu may have the potential to spread more easily to humans than previously thought.
