USDA to begin required national milk testing for bird flu

Key takeaways:

• The federal order will require national milk testing and the provision of epidemiological information.
• The federal order will initially be implemented in six states.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the start of its National Milk Testing Strategy to test for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza.

“Since the first [highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)] detection in livestock, USDA has collaborated with our federal, state and industry partners to swiftly and diligently identify affected herds and respond accordingly,” Agriculture Secretary Tom J. Vilsack said in a press release. “This new milk testing strategy will build on those steps to date and will provide a roadmap for states to protect the health of their dairy herds.”

Vilsack added that the federal order “will give farmers and farmworkers better confidence in the safety of their animals and ability to protect themselves, and it will put us on a path to quickly controlling and stopping the virus’ spread nationwide.”

The federal order requires that:

• if requested, raw milk samples are shared from any entity responsible for a dairy farm, bulk milk transfer station, bulk milk transporter or dairy processing facility that sends or holds milk intended for pasteurization;
• herd owners with positive cattle to provide epidemiological information that enables activities such as contact tracing and disease surveillance; and
• state veterinarians and private laboratories report positive results to the USDA that come from tests done on raw milk samples drawn as part of the National Milk Testing Strategy.

The federal order will initially be only implemented in California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

The USDA noted that the new federal order does not supersede or override its federal order from April, which “still requires the mandatory testing of lactating dairy cows prior to interstate shipment and requires that all privately owned laboratories and state veterinarians report positive test results connected with those tests.”

The National Milk Testing Strategy, meant to better the USDA’s and partners’ understanding of the spread of HPAI and identify which states and herds are infected by the virus, is designed as a five-step plan.

This plan includes:

• stage 1, during which the USDA will begin nationwide testing of milk silos at dairy processing facilities;
• stage 2, during which the USDA will stand up bulk tank sampling programs to identify herds affected by HPAI;
• stage 3, during which the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will work to identify specific cases and implement rapid response measures like contact tracing;
• stage 4, where — once all dairy herds in a state are considered unaffected — APHIS will continue regular sampling of farms’ bulk tanks to make sure HPAI does not re-emerge; and
• stage 5, during which APHIS will work with states to begin periodic sampling and testing to show long-term HPAI absence.

Ultimately, the strategy “is a critical part of our ongoing efforts to protect the health and safety of individuals and communities nationwide,” HHS Secretary Xavier Beccera said in the release. “We will continue this work with USDA for as long and as far as necessary.”