Michigan farms must provide milk samples on request to test for bird flu virus

• The US Department of Agriculture ordered testing of the milk supply 
• The mandate is to help combat the national outbreak of H5N1 virus in US dairy herds
• In Michigan, poultry farms in 22 counties have been impacted by the outbreak

The US Department of Agriculture is ordering dairy farms in Michigan and five other states to begin providing samples of raw milk upon request so they can be tested for bird flu virus. 

The mandate is part of an effort to combat the national outbreak of the H5N1 virus, which has been found in poultry and dairy herds across the country, causing concerns for the safety of the milk supply and raising the price of eggs. 

The USDA will work with states to implement the testing program, which begins Dec. 16. The first six states are Michigan, California, Colorado, Mississippi, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

Related:

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• Nation’s third human bird flu case detected in Michigan
• Michigan rolls out relief for dairy farmers hurt by bird flu

“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,” Tom Vilsack, secretary for the USDA, said in a written statement.

The federal mandate requires: 

• Dairy farmers and processors to share raw milk samples upon request 
• Herd owners to provide epidemiological information if cattle test positive 
• Private laboratories to report positive test results to the USDA from raw milk samples 

Nearly 60 human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, have been reported in the US. The infection has been detected “sporadically” in dairy workers, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the risk to humans exposed to the virus remains low and the symptoms mild. The CDC does recommend that workers on dairy farms use personal protective equipment. It says the highest risk comes from “close, direct, unprotected contact with animals with confirmed or suspected HPAI A(H5N1) virus infection or their environments and exposure to contaminated raw cow’s milk from infected cows or other products made from contaminated raw cow’s milk.” 

The CDC recommends that people not drink raw milk but says pasteurized milk is safe to consume.

Bird flu can be fatal to domestic poultry flocks, and once the disease has been detected, farmers are required to “depopulate” or kill the infected birds to prevent the disease from spreading further, USDA.

The national outbreak has affected over 112 million poultry across the country, according to the most recent data by the CDC. In Michigan, over 6 million birds have been impacted by the disease in 12 counties.