High-Path Avian Flu is spreading among the cattle herd, with a new case now confirmed in South Dakota.
This marks the eighth state to confirm the virus in a dairy herd. Health officials say there is no risk to the commercial milk supply, emphasizing that dairy producers can only sell milk from healthy animals, and pasteurization eliminates harmful bacteria.
Earlier in the week, North Carolina confirmed the detection of the virus in a dairy herd. Movement of cattle from other affected states into North Carolina has now stopped. The state’s veterinarian says there are several warning signs and they are monitoring the herd closely.
‘These high producing dairy cattle that one go off feed. Two start dropping in milk production and then three have those changes in the milk that cause the discoloration and thickening. Now is that because of High Path AI? I don’t think we have that answer yet, but that’s what got us in this place in the in the meantime. So maybe HPAI is causing those signs we’re definitely. Following cattle with those signs absolutely following them, does it cause nose clinical signs? And so far in this herd, we’re not seeing any evidence of clinical signs associated with HPAI,” said Mike Martin.
Martin says North Carolina has adopted a strategy to protect the state from further spreading of the virus, with Maryland implementing comparable preemptive measures. Although no cases have emerged in dairy herds there, health authorities are banning imports from states with confirmed cases.
