Items Tagged with 'dairy cows'

Animal veterinarians are pushing USDA to move quickly in testing milk nationwide to get a handle on where the H5N1 virus is located so it can be controlled.

Another case of avian flu has been identified in a person in Colorado, the fourth such case associated with the H5N1 virus that has infected herds in 12 states.

USDA is re-emphasizing the importance of biosecurity on dairy farms in light of reports identifying a variety of ways the H5N1 virus can infect dairy herds and nearby poultry operations, including the movement of animals and people, and the sharing of vehicles and equipment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced the second case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a dairy worker in a week, and the third this year, but the agency said the risk to the public remains low.

Another worker at a dairy farm has been infected with avian flu, most likely through contact with a cow, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

USDA says it’s confident that your hamburger is safe to eat, announcing results of tests showing that cooking patties to an internal temperature of 145 or 160 degrees – medium and well-done – killed the H5N1 virus.

The Agriculture Department is making a wide range of resources available to dairy farmers whose herds are affected by avian flu, including reimbursing them for the cost of personal protective equipment and development of biosecurity plans, in part to gather more information about farmworker health.

More preliminary test results released today on samples of retail milk, cottage cheese and sour cream show that pasteurization is effective in inactivating highly pathogenic avian influenza, which has been found in 36 herds in nine states, FDA said today.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed that the H5N1 virus has been found in a dairy herd in Colorado, the ninth state so far, the state's department of agriculture said Friday.