Alberta dairy producers urged to continue monitoring herds amid U.S. bird flu outbreak

Alberta officials continue to monitor the ongoing bird flu outbreak in dairy cows in the United States, with producers advised to closely monitor their herds.

Alberta officials continue to monitor the ongoing bird flu outbreak in dairy cows in the United States, with producers advised to closely monitor their herds.

Avian influenza has now been found in herds in 11 U.S. states, including Minnesota and Iowa.

Dr. Keith Lehman, the chief provincial veterinarian with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, said it’s vital that dairy producers stay vigilant.

“The biggest thing at this point is really to ensure that our producers have that heightened sense of awareness, that they’re monitoring their herds closely before the disease so that we catch it… as early as possible,” he said

Last month Canada introduced new import requirements requiring lactating dairy cows from the U.S. test negative to bird flu within seven days of export.

So far, no sign of the disease has been found in Canadian cows, and all milk sold in stores must be pasteurized, which has shown to effectively kill the virus.

Lehman said there are a range of options available to dairy farmers to minimize the risks of avian influenza getting into a herd, and then spreading.

“We offer testing for this virus if they want to have animals screened ahead of time before they move them, so they can have samples collected from the herd the animals originated from and have them tested before they purchase those animals or bring them into their herds,” said Lehman.