USDA orders testing of milk for bird flu

The mandate targeting bulk milk transporters and dairy processors is meant to help identify herds that have caught the virus, which has spread among livestock.

The national milk supply must be tested for bird flu under a federal order announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Entities handling raw milk, such as bulk milk transporters or dairy processors, must collect and share samples with the USDA upon request.
The goal is to quickly identify which dairy herds are affected by H5N1 — the strain of bird flu that’s causing outbreaks in poultry and dairy cows — and prevent transmission among livestock
“Among many outcomes, this will give farmers 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
In addition to the testing mandate, the order requires dairy herd owners with cattle that test positive for bird flu to provide information that can help with surveillance.
The USDA previously issued a federal order in April that required lactating dairy cows to be tested for bird flu before being shipped across state lines, and required private labs and state veterinarians to report positive cases based on those tests. Those requirements remains in place under the new order as well.
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