Milk from dairy cows in Texas and Kansas has tested positive for bird flu, U.S. officials said. Officials with the Texas Animal Health Commission confirmed the flu virus is the Type A H5N1 strain, known for decades to cause outbreaks in birds and to occasionally infect people. The virus is affecting older dairy cows in those states and in New Mexico, causing decreased lactation and low appetite.
Quick Read
- Bird Flu in Dairy Cows: Milk from dairy cows in Texas and Kansas has tested positive for bird flu, specifically the Type A H5N1 strain. This strain is known for causing outbreaks among birds and occasional infections in humans.
- Impact on Dairy Cows: The virus is affecting older dairy cows in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico, leading to decreased milk production, lethargy, and low appetite among the cattle.
- Safety of Milk Supply: U.S. officials, including those from the USDA, have stated that the commercial milk supply remains safe and the risk to human health is low. Milk from affected cows is either being diverted or destroyed, and pasteurization, which is required for interstate milk sales, effectively kills viruses and bacteria.
- Previous Cases in Livestock: This development comes after an announcement that goats on a Minnesota farm had been diagnosed with bird flu, marking the first known instance of the virus in U.S. livestock.
- Recovery and Precautions: Livestock appear to recover from the virus within seven to ten days on their own, unlike poultry where bird flu outbreaks necessitate the culling of affected flocks. Enhanced biosecurity measures are being implemented on dairy farms to prevent further spread.
- Source of Infection: Based on the findings from Texas, it is believed that the cows contracted the virus from infected wild birds. About 10% of lactating dairy cows in the affected herds have shown signs of infection.
- Ongoing Monitoring: The situation is described as rapidly evolving, with multiple federal and state agencies, including the FDA and CDC, closely monitoring developments and implementing precautions to ensure the safety of the milk supply and public health.
The Associated Press has the story:
Dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas test positive for bird flu
Newslooks- (AP)
Milk from dairy cows in Texas and Kansas has tested positive for bird flu, U.S. officials said. Officials with the Texas Animal Health Commission confirmed the flu virus is the Type A H5N1 strain, known for decades to cause outbreaks in birds and to occasionally infect people. The virus is affecting older dairy cows in those states and in New Mexico, causing decreased lactation and low appetite.
It comes a week after officials in Minnesota announced that goats on a farm where there had been an outbreak of bird flu among poultry were diagnosed with the virus. It’s believed to be the first time bird flu — also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza — was found in U.S. livestock.
The commercial milk supply is safe and risk to people is low, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dairies are required to only allow milk from healthy animals to enter the food supply, and milk from the sick animals is being diverted or destroyed. Pasteurization also kills viruses and other bacteria, and the process is required for milk sold through interstate commerce, the agency said.
“At this stage, there is no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health,” the USDA said in a statement.
The federal government said its tests in the cattle did not detect any changes to the virus that would make it spread more easily to people.
Dairy farmers in Texas first became concerned three weeks ago when cattle started falling ill with what officials called “mystery dairy cow disease,” Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said. Milk production fell sharply and the cows were lethargic and weren’t eating much.
“We hadn’t seen anything like it before,” he said. “It was kind of like they had a cold.”
The state’s animal health commission began an investigation that included tests for bird flu, spokeswoman Erin Robinson said. Based on findings from Texas, USDA officials think the cows got the virus from infected wild birds.
Experts say livestock appear to recover on their own within seven to 10 days. That’s different than bird flu outbreaks in poultry, which necessitate killing flocks to get rid of the virus. Since 2022, outbreaks in have led to the loss of about 80 million birds in U.S. commercial flocks.
So far, the virus appears to be infecting about 10% of lactating dairy cows in the affected herds, said Michael Payne, a food animal veterinarian and and biosecurity expert with the University of California-Davis Western Institute for Food Safety and Security.
“This doesn’t look anything like the high-path influenza in bird flocks,” he said.
Bird flu was detected in unpasteurized, clinical samples of milk from sick cattle collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas. The virus was also found in a nose and throat swab from another dairy in Texas.
Officials called it a rapidly evolving situation. The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are involved, along with officials in the three states. Another dairy-heavy state, Iowa, said it is monitoring the situation.
Dairy industry officials said that producers have started enhanced biosecurity efforts on U.S. farms, including limiting the amount of traffic into and out of properties and restricting visits to employees and essential personnel.
Bird flu previously has been reported in 48 different mammal species, Payne noted, adding: “It was probably only a matter of time before avian influenza made its way to ruminants.”
