Milk from dairy cows in Texas and Kansas has tested positive. Avian influenzaUS officials said on Monday.
The disease has been reported in older dairy cows in these states and New Mexico. Symptoms include decreased milk supply and loss of appetite.
The move comes a week after Minnesota officials announced that goats on a farm that had been experiencing an outbreak of avian influenza among poultry had been diagnosed with the virus. This is believed to be the first time that avian influenza, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza, has been detected in livestock in the United States.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, commercial milk supplies are safe. Dairy farms are required to include only milk from healthy animals in their food supply, and milk from sick animals is diverted or discarded. The process is required for milk sold through interstate commerce because pasteurization also kills viruses and other bacteria, they said.
“At this time, there are no concerns about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that this situation poses a risk to the health of consumers,” the Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
Experts say the livestock will recover on their own. This is different from avian influenza outbreaks in poultry, where the flock must be killed to remove the virus. From 2022 onwards, trend This resulted in the loss of approximately 80 million birds from U.S. commercial flocks.
The Department of Agriculture said based on findings in Texas, officials believe the cows contracted the virus from infected wild birds.
So far, the virus appears to be infecting about 10% of lactating cows in the affected herds, said the food animal veterinarian and Western Institute for Food Safety and Security at the University of California, Davis. said Michael Payne, a biosecurity expert.
“This looks nothing like high-passage influenza in bird flocks,” he said.
The federal government also said tests did not detect any changes in the virus that would make it easier to infect people.
Avian influenza was detected in unsterilized clinical samples taken from sick cows from two dairy farms in Kansas and one dairy farm in Texas. The virus was also detected in nose and throat swabs from another Texas dairy. Symptoms include decreased milk supply and decreased appetite. Officials reported it was also detected in New Mexico.
Officials said the situation was evolving rapidly. In addition to officials from the three states, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are also involved. Iowa, another dairy-rich state, said it was monitoring the situation.
Dairy industry officials say producers are ramping up biosecurity efforts at U.S. farms, including limiting the amount of on-site traffic and restricting visits by employees and essential personnel. It is said that it has started.
Bird influenza has been previously reported 48 types of animals“It was probably only a matter of time before avian influenza spread to ruminants,” Payne said, adding.
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Mike Stobbe and Jonelle Alesia, Associated Press
