USDA plans to sample milk in states where dairy herds have been infected with avian flu, in an effort to stamp out the virus, which was first confirmed in Texas in March before spreading to herds in 14 states.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters at the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue in Des Moines Thursday that the rapid spread of the H5N1 virus in California and the detection of the virus in a backyard pig in Oregon – combined with Colorado’s so-far successful effort to contain the virus – “encouraged us to take a look at how we might be able to ensure that states are, in fact, virus-free.”
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a news release that although the number of states with “known avian influenza detections in dairy herds” has dropped from 14 to two, “USDA believes that additional steps are needed to proactively support effective biosecurity measures, which are key for states and farmers to contain and eliminate H5N1 infections from their livestock."
Vilsack said USDA would test milk at regional silos before moving to individual farms if needed.
“We know from some advanced research that when you test the milk, it sometimes gives you an indication that the virus is there, even before you see it in cows. Oftentimes cows are asymptomatic, or oftentimes the milk indicates the virus presence before you see symptoms.”
The department is working with state and private veterinarians "on the final details of implementation, and will share guidance documents soon,” APHIS said.
Vilsack also said the virus in the pig is “not the same as what we're seeing in cattle. It is not even the same necessarily as what we see in some of the poultry circumstances.”
“The other factor in all this is, we're getting back into the migratory system season, where birds are flying, and if birds … stay in a particular area for too long a period of time, there's the possibility” they can spread the virus, he said.
USDA Director of Communications Cathy Cochran elaborated, saying the “strain on the Oregon farm is not the strain that has been found in dairy cattle and other poultry facilities, which the secretary was trying to underscore. Genetic sequencing for the pig is still underway. Analysis for the poultry on the farm indicates the virus is consistent with other strains associated with wild birds. It is H5N1, but not the strain that’s been associated with cows.”
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The five pigs and a few dozen poultry on the farm were euthanized. Tests on two of the pigs did not find any virus, and test results on the other two are pending.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture told Agri-Pulse it doesn’t know how the pig became infected.
“Currently there is no definitive answer,” ODA Director of Communications Andrea Cantu-Schomus said. “We know the pigs co-mingled with the [highly pathogenic avian influenza]-affected birds. The owners reported at least one pig consumed a duck that was believed to have died of HPAI. The duck was not tested and it occurred before ODA arrived on scene.”
Vilsack, who is nearing 12 years in his job for two different administrations, also said, “Let's make sure everybody understands the milk is safe, the beef is safe, the pork is safe. There's no issue relative to the food supply at this point in time.”
Vilsack also said he would be getting a progress report Thursday on H5N1 vaccine development at APHIS’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories. Two vaccine candidates have been approved at this point for field safety trials, and “one of these submissions is already moving forward with its plans,” an APHIS spokesperson said. USDA said it cannot say which companies are involved.
“These field safety studies are limited to non-viable, non-replicating vaccines which do not cause virus shedding,” so that vaccinated cattle won’t transmit virus to other animals, milk, meat, people, or into the environment, the spokesperson said.
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