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USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic

Avian Influenza in Dairy Herd in

Idaho

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Press Release

Contact: 

APHISpress@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the detection of highly

pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a dairy herd in Idaho.  APHIS shared on Friday,

March 29 that its National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa,

was working to confirm presumptive positive test results from an Idaho herd; this

announcement is a follow up to that information. 

This marks the first known case of HPAI in cattle in Idaho. To date, USDA has

confirmed the detection of HPAI in dairy herds in Texas (7) Kansas (2), Michigan (1),

and New Mexico (1). 

The NVSL is currently performing confirmatory tests on presumptive positive results

from Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio and Texas. It is important to note that, while these

samples are from cattle with at least some clinical signs in common with other cattle

diagnosed with HPAI, the presence of HPAI should not be considered confirmed until

the NVSL analysis is complete. 
APHIS has created a landing page with recent announcements pertaining to HPAI

detections in livestock, as well as biosecurity information and other resources. Going

forward, APHIS will post confirmed detections of HPAI in livestock on that landing

page by 4:00 p.m. ET each day. 

APHIS continues to work closely with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as state veterinary and

public health officials, to investigate and diagnose the illness in dairy cows causing

decreased lactation, low appetite, and other clinical signs.

USDA and federal and state partners will continue to share additional updates as

information becomes available. APHIS has also prepared a Frequently Asked

Questions document, which can be accessed here as well as a document with

recommendations for state animal health officials, veterinarians, and producers,

which may be found here. 

On April 1, CDC reported that a person in Texas has tested positive for HPAI A(H5N1)

virus; the CDC also stated in its announcement that this infection does not change

the A(H5N1) bird flu human health risk assessment for the U.S. general public, which

CDC considers to be low. However, people with close or prolonged, unprotected

exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments

contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection. CDC

has interim recommendations for prevention, monitoring, and public health

investigations of HPAI A(H5N1) viruses.

Federal and state agencies continue to conduct additional testing in swabs from sick

animals and in unpasteurized clinical milk samples from sick animals, as well as viral

genome sequencing, to assess whether HPAI or another unrelated disease may be

underlying any symptoms.

The NVSL has also confirmed that the strain of the virus found in subsequent states

is very similar to the strain originally confirmed in cattle in Texas and Kansas that

appears to have been introduced by wild birds (H5N1, Eurasian lineage

goose/Guangdong clade 2.3.4.4b).  Initial testing has not found changes to the virus

that would make it more transmissible to humans. While cases among humans in

direct contact with infected animals are possible, this indicates that the current risk

to the public remains low.
There continues to be no concern that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer

health, or that it affects the safety of the commercial milk supply because products

are pasteurized before entering the market. Dairies are required to send only milk

from healthy animals into processing for human consumption; milk from impacted

animals is being diverted from the commercial milk tank or destroyed so that it does

not enter the human food supply. In addition, pasteurization has continually proven

to inactivate bacteria and viruses, like influenza, in milk. Pasteurization is required

for any milk entering interstate commerce for human consumption. FDA’s

longstanding position is that unpasteurized, raw milk can harbor dangerous

microorganisms that can pose serious health risks to consumers, and FDA

is reminding consumers of the risks associated with raw milk consumption in light of

the HPAI detections.

Because of the limited information available about the transmission of HPAI in raw

milk, the FDA recommends that industry does not manufacture or sell raw milk or

raw/unpasteurized milk cheese products made with milk from cows showing

symptoms of illness, including those infected with avian influenza or exposed to

those infected with avian influenza.  By exposure, FDA generally means cattle

located on a premises with cattle with suspected or confirmed H5N1. Given the

variety of premises sizes and the potential for state requirements, FDA recommends

producers consult with state regulatory officials and their veterinarian for further

guidance. At this time, the FDA is not aware that any milk or dairy product from

symptomatic cows is entering interstate commerce. Furthermore, on farms where

HPAI has been confirmed, or is suspected, if milk is intended to be used to feed

calves or other animals (including pets), FDA strongly encourages that it be

pasteurized or otherwise heat treated to kill harmful bacteria and viruses, such as

influenza, before feeding to livestock or other animals. FDA posted a document with 

questions and answers regarding milk safety during HPAI outbreaks. Additional food

safety information from FDA, including information about the sale and consumption

of raw milk, can be found here. 

Milk loss resulting from symptomatic cattle to date is too limited to have a major

impact on supply and there should be no impact on the price of milk or other dairy

products. Further, the U.S. typically has a more than sufficient milk supply in the

spring months due to seasonally higher production.

Federal agencies are also working with state and industry partners to encourage

producers and veterinarians to report cattle illnesses quickly so that we can monitor
potential additional cases and minimize the impact and risk to farmers, farmworkers,

consumers and other animals. Producers are urged to work with their veterinarian to

report cattle illnesses quickly and practice enhanced biosecurity measures. More

information on biosecurity measures can be found here.