COLUMBUS, Ohio — To date, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in 26 herds across 8 states. A complete list of confirmed cases of HPAI in livestock can be found at USDA’s website.
USDA continues to stress the importance of heightened biosecurity measures, including special attention to good milking practices such as equipment disinfection and milking sick cattle separately or last prior to parlor cleaning. Also, isolate newly added cattle when moved onto a premises. Biosecurity guidance is available from USDA and resources are also available from the National Dairy FARM Program, including this new fact sheet created with the National Milk Producers Federation and American Association of Bovine Practitioners.
At this time, USDA will not be issuing federal quarantine orders, nor recommending any state regulatory quarantines or official hold orders on cattle. However, USDA strongly recommends minimizing movement of cattle as much as possible, with special attention to evaluating risk and factoring that risk into movement decisions.
The USDA, Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) continue to affirm that pasteurized milk and dairy products remain safe to consume. The FDA does not currently have concerns about the safety or availability of pasteurized milk products nationwide.
NMPF Webinar
Join the National Milk Producers Federation and the National Dairy FARM Program for a webinar: Latest Strategies for HPAI Defense and Workforce Safety on Wednesday, April 17 at 4:00 pm ET.
The session will feature insights on the rapidly evolving animal health situation, including early signs for detection, updated biosecurity recommendations and contingency planning. Strategies for safeguarding the health and safety of workers handling cows infected with HPAI will also be discussed.
To register for the webinar, click here.
— American Dairy Association Mideast
