U.S. requires more dairy cows tested for bird flu as viral concerns grow
Dairy cows must be tested for bird flu before moving across state lines under a federal order to be issued Wednesday, as evidence mounts the virus is more widespread than feared among cows in the United States.
Biden administration officials said the move is meant to contain transmission of the virus known as H5N1 and to reduce the threat to livestock, but they maintained that the risk to humans remains low. The outbreak has drawn public health concerns because it marks the first time bird flu has moved to cows, and greater transmission in mammals increases the risk that the virus could spread more easily in humans.
Mike Watson, administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, says every lactating dairy cow must be tested before moving across state lines. Positive test results would trigger additional requirements for herd owners to disclose information, including the movement of animals, to aid epidemiologic investigations and to report cases to the USDA. He said the order could help overcome reluctance from some milk producers to allow testing in their herds. The cost of mandatory testing would be reimbursed by the agency.
Voluntary testing protocols for cows, limited until now to cows with symptoms, has drawn criticism from public health experts.
In the current outbreak, officials have confirmed avian flu in dairy cows in eight states, as well as one human case in a Texas farmworker. That person has recovered.
But testing uncovered fragments of the virus in milk sold at grocery stores, another sign the virus is more prevalent in cows than official testing shows, including in asymptomatic cows. Federal officials stressed existing research suggests pasteurization renders the virus unable to infect humans; additional reviews are underway.
Public health experts have also faulted the Biden administration for not sharing more data about the outbreak, warning that it could hinder scientific research and hamper the global response.
Dairy cows must be tested for bird flu before moving across state lines under a federal order to be issued Wednesday, as evidence mounts the virus is more widespread than feared among cows in the United States.
Biden administration officials said the move is meant to contain transmission of the virus known as H5N1 and to reduce the threat to livestock, but they maintained that the risk to humans remains low. The outbreak has drawn public health concerns because it marks the first time bird flu has moved to cows, and greater transmission in mammals increases the risk that the virus could spread more easily in humans.
Michael Watson, administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, says every lactating dairy cow must be tested before moving across state lines.