US government will require more testing, tracking of bird flu in dairy cows

The US Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that it is issuing a federal order to require more testing and reporting of H5N1 influenza, more commonly known as bird flu, in dairy cows.

The US Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that it is issuing a federal order to require more testing and reporting of H5N1 influenza, more commonly known as bird flu, in dairy cows. The USDA had previously required reporting of H5N1 influenza in poultry and wild birds, but producers were not required to let the government know if cows tested positive – a factor the USDA admitted had hampered its ability to investigate the spread of the current outbreak in cattle. Since cases were confirmed in dairy cows in Texas and Kansas in late March, 33 farms in eight states have identified cases. The new order is part of a slate of measures the government is taking to address H5N1 flu, which has been devastating to bird populations and recently begun to infect an increasing number of mammals, potentially bringing it a step closer to being able to spread efficiently between people. The USDA said at a multiagency news conference Wednesday that the new order would help it get more information on the growing outbreak. “There has been a little bit of reluctance for some of the producers to allow us to gather information from their farms,” said Dr. Michael Watson, administrator of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or APHIS. “With the federal order going into place, this is going to really help us address any gaps that might exist.”