Post by Nadica (She/Her) on Aug 9, 2024 20:27:36 GMT
Milk tank tests find 10 Colorado herds infected with bird flu - Published Aug 9, 2024
The USDA strategy for eradicating the avian flu virus in cattle is to isolate it on infected farms and wait for it to die off.
Ten new outbreaks of bird flu were found in Colorado dairy herds as the result of mandatory testing of milk samples from bulk tanks on the farms, reported the state’s Agriculture Department. The state veterinarian ordered the weekly tests in an effort to curb the spread of the H5N1 avian flu virus in the dairy and poultry industries.
Since late March, when bird flu was first identified in cattle, the disease has been confirmed in 63 dairy herds in Colorado, or one-third of the 190 outbreaks in 13 states, from Idaho to North Carolina. Eleven of the 12 cases reported so far this month have been in Colorado; the other was in Texas.
Public health officials say the risk to the general public from bird flu is low because there have been no signs the virus is evolving to become more communicable and there has been no increase in flu activity. But 13 farmworkers — four on dairy farms and nine on poultry farms — have contracted mild cases of bird flu since April. Ten of the infected workers were employed in Colorado.
Earlier this week, the Colorado Agriculture Department updated its list of HPAI cases in dairy herds, with 10 now credited to “bulk tank surveillance.” They were the first detections from the weekly testing program.
The USDA strategy for eradicating the avian flu virus in cattle is to isolate it on infected farms and wait for it to die off. The virus commonly causes fever, suppressed appetite, and reduced milk production in infected cows. They tend to recover after a couple of weeks, with a low mortality rate. The USDA is offering up to $28,000 to dairy farmers to improve biosecurity, buy protective gear for workers, and pay veterinary bills for treating and testing herds for bird flu. Compensation for lost milk production is also available.
Colorado is the only state with a mandatory bulk tank testing system. The USDA initiated a voluntary dairy herd status program in late May. It allows dairy farms to ship lactating cows across state lines without having to test them for bird flu if milk samples from their bulk tanks have tested negative for three weeks in a row. Two dozen herds in 10 states were enrolled in the program; 10 of the herds were in Michigan. USDA officials were not immediately available to say if the weekly tests have detected cases of bird flu.
Nearly 101 million birds in domestic flocks, mostly egg-laying hens and turkeys being raised for meat, have died of bird flu since the disease appeared in the United States in February 2022. Some 9.7 million of them were in Colorado.
The USDA strategy for eradicating the avian flu virus in cattle is to isolate it on infected farms and wait for it to die off.
Ten new outbreaks of bird flu were found in Colorado dairy herds as the result of mandatory testing of milk samples from bulk tanks on the farms, reported the state’s Agriculture Department. The state veterinarian ordered the weekly tests in an effort to curb the spread of the H5N1 avian flu virus in the dairy and poultry industries.
Since late March, when bird flu was first identified in cattle, the disease has been confirmed in 63 dairy herds in Colorado, or one-third of the 190 outbreaks in 13 states, from Idaho to North Carolina. Eleven of the 12 cases reported so far this month have been in Colorado; the other was in Texas.
Public health officials say the risk to the general public from bird flu is low because there have been no signs the virus is evolving to become more communicable and there has been no increase in flu activity. But 13 farmworkers — four on dairy farms and nine on poultry farms — have contracted mild cases of bird flu since April. Ten of the infected workers were employed in Colorado.
Earlier this week, the Colorado Agriculture Department updated its list of HPAI cases in dairy herds, with 10 now credited to “bulk tank surveillance.” They were the first detections from the weekly testing program.
The USDA strategy for eradicating the avian flu virus in cattle is to isolate it on infected farms and wait for it to die off. The virus commonly causes fever, suppressed appetite, and reduced milk production in infected cows. They tend to recover after a couple of weeks, with a low mortality rate. The USDA is offering up to $28,000 to dairy farmers to improve biosecurity, buy protective gear for workers, and pay veterinary bills for treating and testing herds for bird flu. Compensation for lost milk production is also available.
Colorado is the only state with a mandatory bulk tank testing system. The USDA initiated a voluntary dairy herd status program in late May. It allows dairy farms to ship lactating cows across state lines without having to test them for bird flu if milk samples from their bulk tanks have tested negative for three weeks in a row. Two dozen herds in 10 states were enrolled in the program; 10 of the herds were in Michigan. USDA officials were not immediately available to say if the weekly tests have detected cases of bird flu.
Nearly 101 million birds in domestic flocks, mostly egg-laying hens and turkeys being raised for meat, have died of bird flu since the disease appeared in the United States in February 2022. Some 9.7 million of them were in Colorado.