U.S. proposes bulk milk testing for bird flu before cattle transport: Reuters exclusive

The U.S. Agriculture Department has proposed allowing farmers to bulk test the milk of their dairy cows for bird flu rather than test milk from individual cows before gaining approval to ship them across state lines, according to state and industry officials and agency documents.

The U.S. Agriculture Department has proposed allowing farmers to bulk test the milk of their dairy cows for bird flu rather than test milk from individual cows before gaining approval to ship them across state lines, according to state and industry officials and agency documents.

The spread of the virus to cows and two dairy workers since late March raised concerns about the threat of a pandemic, and government officials are trying to contain the disease while minimizing economic damage to the farm sector.

The agriculture department (USDA) in late April began requiring lactating cows to test negative before being shipped across state lines. It later said the order likely helped prevent the spread of the virus to new states.

USDA reported 2,492 pre-movement tests as of Wednesday but said that number does not equal the number of animals tested.

A pilot program for bulk testing milk could begin in June for farmers who choose to participate, according to documents USDA sent to industry officials this week that Reuters obtained.

Agriculture officials in six states told Reuters on Wednesday they were reviewing USDA's proposal for the program, which has not been previously reported. USDA declined to comment.

"Once it has support and participation from farms, the USDA program could help reduce the threat of H5N1 in dairy herds, further mitigate risk among farm workers, and continue to protect our nation's commercial milk supply," the International Dairy Foods Association said in a statement to Reuters.