Multiple cases of bird flu found in U.S. dairy cows

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state public health and veterinary officials are Investigating avian influenza in dairy cows In Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico, this can lead to reduced milk production, loss of appetite, and other symptoms.

As of Monday, March 25, unpasteurized clinical samples of milk from sick cows were collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one dairy farm in Texas, as well as oropharyngeal samples from another dairy farm in Texas. The swab test came back positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Additional testing was initiated on Friday 22 March and over the weekend as the farm also reported dead wild birds found on its land.According to Texas study results, the disease Seems to have been introduced by wild birds

.Preliminary tests by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory found no changes in the virus that would make it easier to spread to humans, suggesting the virus The risk to the public remains low at this time.

Federal and state agencies are moving quickly to conduct additional HPAI testing and viral genome sequencing to better understand the situation, including the characteristics of HPAI strains associated with these tests.

“At this stage, there are no concerns about the safety of commercial milk supplies or the risks to consumer health posed by this situation,” they noted. “Dairy farms must only ship milk from healthy animals for processing for human consumption; Milk from affected animals is being diverted or destroyed to avoid entering the food supply. Additionally, pasteurization has been consistently shown to “inactivate bacteria and viruses, such as influenza viruses, in milk.” Any milk entering interstate commerce needs to be pasteurized,” they added.

Federal agencies are also working with state and industry partners to Encourage farmers and veterinarians to promptly report livestock diseases

This allows them to monitor potential additional cases and minimize the impact on farmers, consumers and other animals.

To date, milk losses from symptomatic cows have been too limited to have a significant impact on supply or the price of milk or other dairy products.

Detection in ruminants

It was reported a few days ago that the disease was found in a goat in Stevens County, where a farm raising an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has recently been identified in poultry.This is Highly pathogenic avian influenza detected in domestic ruminants in U.S. for first time (cattle, sheep, goats and their relatives).