The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that avian influenza (bird flu) has been detected in sick cattle on two dairy farms.
In a statement the USDA detailed that “unpasteurized, clinical samples of milk from sick cattle collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, as well as an oropharyngeal swab from another dairy in Texas, have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)”.
The department also outlined that farms have reported finding deceased wild birds on their properties.
The USDA said: “Based on findings from Texas, the detections appear to have been introduced by wild birds.
“Initial testing by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories has not found changes to the virus that would make it more transmissible to humans, which would indicate that the current risk to the public remains low.”
Bird flu
According to the USDA 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”.
“Dairies are required to send only milk from healthy animals into processing for human consumption; milk from impacted animals is being diverted or destroyed so that it does not enter the food supply.
“In addition, pasteurization has continually proven to inactivate bacteria and viruses, like influenza, in milk. Pasteurization is required for any milk entering interstate commerce,” the department stated.
Cattle illness
The USDA together with the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state veterinary and public health officials, have been investigating an illness that was discovered among older dairy cows in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico that had caused decreased lactation, low appetite, and other symptoms.
Federal agencies are now encouraging farmers and vets in the area to report cattle illnesses quickly to that they can monitor any additional cases and “minimise the impact to farmers, consumers and other animals”.
According to the USDA milk loss resulting from symptomatic cattle to date “is too limited” to have a major impact on supply and it does not anticipate that there should be an impact on the price of milk or other dairy products.