USDA announces federal order for national milk testing to monitor bird flu in dairy herds
The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a new federal order requiring raw, unpasteurized milk samples nationwide to be tested, federal officials announced Friday.
The move is part of the department's announcement of its "National Milk Testing Strategy," which builds on previous actions taken for the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI H5N1, in dairy cattle that was first detected in March, according to a news release from the department.
The bird flu virus has been spreading rapidly, particularly in California, where nearly 500 of the more than 700 infected U.S. herds have been detected.
Health officials raised the alarm last month after more than 50 human cases of a bird flu variant were confirmed across seven states this year. The virus has infected 57 people in the U.S. this year, including 31 in California, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mild illnesses have been seen in dairy and poultry workers who had close contact with infected animals. In two cases, no known source of the illnesses have been identified, which has worried infectious disease experts about the possibility of human-to-human transmission, which could trigger a pandemic.
While no cases of bird flu virus have been confirmed in people who drank raw milk, health officials have long warned against consuming unpasteurized milk because it can contain illness-causing bacteria. Pasteurized milk, which is heat-treated to kill the virus, remains safe to drink.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release the new milk testing strategy, which is set to begin the week of Dec. 16, 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."
According to the release, the federal order includes three new requirements:
- It requires the sharing of raw milk samples, upon request, from any entity responsible for a dairy farm, bulk milk transporter, bulk milk transfer station or dairy processing facility that sends or holds milk intended for pasteurization
- Requires herd owners with positive cattle to provide epidemiological information that enables activities such as contact tracing and disease surveillance
- Requires that private laboratories and state veterinarians report positive results to USDA that come from tests done on raw milk samples drawn as part of the national testing program
In a federal order issued in April, the USDA started requiring the dairy industry to test milk-producing cows for infections from HPAI H5N1 before they're moved between states.