APHIS is now asking cattle producers to have their animals tested before moving between states.
The move comes as High Path Avian Flu has recently made a shift to dairy cattle. The effort is voluntary though, because the USDA says it would not be feasible to test every U.S. dairy herd. That is because the U.S. is home to more than 26,000 dairy herds. APHIS hopes voluntary testing will shed more light on the virus’ impact and help stop the spread from state to state.
Eight states have now confirmed illnesses in their dairy herds. Just recently, Michigan confirmed another case, impacting herds in three different counties. However, the virus is not as deadly as we have seen in the poultry industry. Michigan’s state veterinarian says with proper care, the cows are recovering.
