The Department of Agriculture announced Friday that it would begin testing the nation’s milk supply in response to the continued spread of H5N1 bird flu.
The federal order would require that raw milk samples across the country be shared for testing.
“Since the first HPAI detection in livestock, USDA has collaborated with our federal, state, and industry partners to swiftly and diligently identify affected herds and respond accordingly. This new milk testing strategy will build on those steps to date and will provide a roadmap for states to protect the health of their dairy herds,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.
“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,” he said.
The department’s website shows there have been 720 dairy herds infected with the virus across 15 states.
The majority of those cases are in California.
The department’s announcement comes after a recall of raw milk was expanded.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
