Bird flu is spreading in cattle, but some states still aren’t a part of testing the milk supply
Three of the best states produced by milk in America are not part of the FBI test of bird influenza even with the appearance of the new alternative in dairy cattle, while some public health experts say it is a worrying gap in the national effort to determine and discover the spread of the virus.
The US Department of Agriculture started a voluntary milk test program in December, after the virus was found Jump In March 2024. The outbreak of the last bird flu in the United States was first discovered in 2022, but it picked steam over the past year, which led to the reduction of poultry farms worldwide, killing tens of millions of birds and Raise the price of eggs.
While the risks to humans are still low, many animal and animal health experts argue that the broader milk test is very important to contain cases of viruses that may not be discovered in another way, which gives variables more opportunities to spread to animals – And human beings.
Dr. K. Farid Jingrich II, CEO of the American Society of Cows Practice, who represents veterinarians: “It is very difficult to control a disease of national importance unless we have a strong monitoring system.”
“If we are testing all dairy products, I don’t think you have any cases that slip through the cracks.”
After Texas, Yistonsen and Edaho, Three of the five best milk producing states in the countryDo not participate in the volunteer federal testing program. Although there are ongoing efforts to make them board the plane, it is not clear when it will join, or the time it will take.
Texas was The first known case of bird flu in livestockthe The first person is believed to have mammalsAnd a case in dairy cattle in December. But the state’s agricultural commissioner, Sayed Miller, said that the monitoring milk test was not necessary, as there are currently no active cases of bird flu in livestock or commercial poultry in the state.
“It is not a big problem, if you measure the number of affected herds,” Miller said in an interview.
The request to test milk for bird flu will be “more organized, more costly, more supervision.” It is not necessary, “adding that the country still considers bird flu is a major threat, but the development of a beef vaccine should be a great axis.
A separate agency, the state’s animal health committee, works with federal officials to develop the bird flu testing program, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Only last week, The US Department of Agriculture announced I discovered a new breed in livestock, caught in Nevada Through the Federal Milk Test Program.
Detection “is a testimony of our strengthNational milk test strategyThe US Department of Agriculture said in a statement of NBC news. The agency said last month Which – which Test samples are taken from nearly three quarters of the country’s milk production. More countries have appeared since then, with nearly 40 years participating now. The US Department of Agriculture aims to register all 48 continental states.
One person died and at least 68 people Wounded In the United States since the beginning of 2024, often after close or long contact with affected animals, according to the American centers to combat and prevent them.
Richard Webby, an expert at St. Jude Hospital for Children’s Research in St. Jude, said the milk test is an important tool for helping pathogenic professionals to monitor how the virus evolves, especially in ways that can make it easier to transfer from person to person.
“We can know if there are changes in the virus that increase the danger of human,” he said.
The pasteurization effectively kills bird flu found in milk, Make it safe to drinkAlthough farmers’ workers are still touching with raw milk and livestock that can be injured. More than 960 dairy herds have been affected by the country so far, and the federal government It requires All cushions of the manufacturer of the bird are tested Before transferring it Via state lines.
The test is performed by state officials and the US Department of Agriculture, using samples of raw milk from loose silos, where milk is collected from the farms before sending them to the treatments that you wear, naturalize and pack them. The US Department of Agriculture has a national network of laboratories to test the bird flu, and the Federal Program requires at least four test rounds over a period of six months, with a follow -up test that aims to track any positive results to individual farms. The agency also provides Free test For individual farmers.
Wisconsin said it “continues to work towards” registration in the US Department of Agriculture’s test program and is working closely with federal and loyal partners to monitor bird flu developments, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Government Agriculture.
Idaho did not respond to the requests for suspension, but she is not currently participating in the program, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Health experts said that bird flu, like many viruses, can be detected during test days before dairy cows appear any symptoms.
“The more professional in determining the location of the virus – it allows us to enhance workers’ protection as well,” said Dr. Kay Rousseau, the veterinarian at Colorado, who helped determine the first confirmed case of bird flu in the last cattle. year.
Rousseau added: “If we fly blindly in a certain condition, as we do not know what the situation is, we cannot really say with certainty what risks.”
The frequency of the milk test is widely vary throughout the United States, even within the states registered in the US Department of Agriculture program.
While the test occurs monthly in some states, after dairy outbreaks last year, Colorado required All farms for a weekly milk test to help contain the disease, which continued.
“It helps poultry and dairy industries to sleep at night,” said Dr. Maggie Baldwin, the veterinarian at Colorado, who said that the state test system helped discover cases before the animal is shown. “We know where he and where is not.”
