The united state federal government on Friday bought screening of the country’s milk supply for bird influenza to much better keep track of the spread of the infection in milk cows.
Raw or unpasteurized milk from milk ranches and cpus across the country should be evaluated on demand beginningDec 16, the Agriculture Department stated. Testing will certainly start in 6 states– California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon and Pennsylvania.
Officials stated the action is focused on “containing and ultimately eliminating the virus,” known as Type A H5N1, which was detected for the first time in March in U.S. dairy cows. Since then, more than 700 herds have been confirmed to be infected in 15 states.
“This will give farms 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,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated in a declaration.
The risk to people from bird flu remains low, health officials said. Pasteurization, or heat treatment, kills the virus in milk, leaving it safe to drink.
Veterinarians, farmers, scientists and academics have been calling for nationwide milk testing for months, said Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, who led the efforts.
“It’s another step in the right direction,” Poulsen said. “They’re coming around that we need a better handle on it.”
Dairy farmers and processors across the U.S. have been reluctant to test animals or milk for the virus, fearing economic or other repercussions. Jamie Jonker, chief science officer of the National Milk Producers Federation, said the industry supports USDA efforts to eliminate the virus.
Under the federal order, dairy farmers and those who handle raw milk intended for pasteurization must provide samples of the milk on request for testing for bird flu. It requires reporting of positive tests to the USDA and it requires herd owners to provide basic information to allow tracing of the disease in cattle.
< p course= "yf-1pe5jgt The yf-1pe5jgtApril 24 federal order yf-1pe5jgt Despite yf-1pe5jgt Poulsen yf-1pe5jgt
Raw milk yf-1pe5jgt” >
action complies with an”>At least 58 people in the U.S. have been infected with bird flu, mostly farm workers who became mildly ill after close contact with infected cows, including their milk, or infected poultry.
