The country’s milk supply will now be tested for bird flu, after the US Department of Agriculture issued a new mandate, on Friday.
In a press release the deaprtment said : “This new guidance from USDA, which was developed with significant input from state, veterinary and public health stakeholders, will facilitate comprehensive H5N1 surveillance of the nation’s milk supply and dairy herds”
The first round of testing is scheduled to begin the week starting 16 December in California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Oregon
InfoWars reports: Entities responsible for dairy farms, bulk-milk transporters, and bulk-milk transfer stations or dairy processing facilities that send or hold milk for pasteurization will be required to share samples upon request.
Herd owners with cattle that test positive will also be required to provide epidemiological information for contact tracing and disease surveillance.
Private labs and state veterinarians must report positive results to USDA from tests done on raw milk samples. Earlier this month, the California Department of Food and Agriculture suspended raw-milk products from Raw Farm after the virus was detected in some of its products.
The first round of testing is scheduled to begin the week of 16 December in California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Oregon.
On Friday, Arizona announced its first human cases of bird flu. Two people were exposed to infected poultry while working at a facility in Pinal County. Both experienced mild symptoms and are now recovering.
Other human cases have been reported in California, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
Last month, the CDC recommended expanding testing for bird flu as it warned of undetected cases among humans.
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