The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that four states will launch voluntary pilot programs in the coming days to test bulk milk tanks on dairy farms for bird flu, a move that aims to make it easier for farmers to shipping flocks across state lines and to the public. health officials to track the spread of the virus.
Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas will be in the first round of voluntary participation, and other states are likely to follow, officials said in a call with reporters.
“This list of participating states is just the beginning,” said Eric Deeble, acting senior advisor for USDA’s H5N1 response.
“We are in close conversation with about a dozen other states that are also very interested in participating,” Deeble said. “But it was important for us to get these four states up and running so that other states could see how the program works and gain additional confidence.”
The launch of the pilot program, he said, is “an important step forward” in efforts to reduce the spread of bird flu, also known as H5N1, as well as to expand understanding of the virus.
Farmers who voluntarily enter the program will be able to move their herds across state lines without additional testing after bulk milk tanks or similar representative samples test negative for H5N1 for three consecutive weeks.
“Producers must also comply with regular and ongoing weekly monitoring and testing of their herd for the H5N1 virus, but that process can occur with very little effort on the part of the producer, using routine bulk milk sampling,” Deeble said.
126 cases of bird flu confirmed
The announcement is part of the federal government’s plan. continuous response to the months-long outbreak in dairy cattle and the years-long challenges facing the country’s poultry industry.
The USDA has confirmed 126 cases of bird flu in dairy herds in a dozen states, including Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.
Idaho has the most affected dairy herds, with a total of 27. Michigan follows with 25 herds and Texas with 21 herds. Colorado has reported 18 affected herds, while each of the other states has fewer than 10 herds that have tested positive for bird flu, according to USDA data.
Three dairy farm workers contracted bird flu this year, although all cases were mild.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reinforced during Tuesday’s call that the risk to the general public remains low, although there is an increased risk of contracting the virus for workers, both on dairy farms like poultry.
The FDA will do more tests
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also announced Tuesday that it will expand its H5N1 testing to include about 155 additional samples of dairy products, including aged raw milk cheese, cream cheese, butter and ice cream.
The FDA has repeatedly tested pasteurized milk on store shelves in the months since the first herd of dairy cattle tested positive for H5N1 and has continually emphasized that the country’s milk supply remains safe.
“This retail sampling effort is intended to address remaining geographic and product gaps from the initial sampling of the commercial milk supply that the FDA conducted between April and May of this year,” said Don Prater, acting director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. at the FDA.
It will likely be several weeks before those results are completed and made public, he said.
That second round of expanded food safety testing will not include raw milk, as it is not approved for interstate commerce, he said.
But the FDA has sent a letter to their local, state and tribal partners, warning those who allow the sale of raw milk to talk to consumers about the additional risks, given that H5N1 is spreading through dairy herds in several parts of the country.
Prater, speaking on Tuesday’s call, noted that the FDA continues to strongly discourage the consumption of raw milk.
“We also recommend that the industry not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw dairy products, including raw milk cheese made with milk from cows showing symptoms of illness, including those infected with avian influenza viruses or exposed to those infected with avian influenza viruses. .”
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