HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced Nov. 20 that Pennsylvania will now require precautionary bulk testing of milk for highly pathogenic avian influenza from Pennsylvania farms as an added measure to prevent the spread of the H5N1 bird flu.
No virus has been detected in Pennsylvania cattle, but cases continue to rise in other states. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is taking this preventative measure, at no cost to farmers, to pinpoint and contain the source of viral infections and prevent the spread of Influenza A, including highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
The Center for Dairy Excellence and Penn Ag Industries Association will host their joint monthly Pennsylvania Agriculture HPAI Conference Call on Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. to hear from panelists from the Department of Agriculture and other state/federal organizations as they address real-time questions from dairy and poultry stakeholders about the recent Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s action of mandatory milk testing.
Click here to join the meeting via Zoom. or Dial +1 301-715-8592, Meeting ID: 841 2794 6647, Passcode: 833183
To submit questions to the call, text the center’s question line at 717-585-0766 or email your questions.
Why
Procedures are detailed in a quarantine order effective Nov. 20. Several other states have implemented mandatory bulk testing of milk to reduce the spread of HPAI.
This testing plan was developed in close consultation with dairy and poultry farmers to minimize the impact on their operations, the department said.
The measure is announced as more than 217 new cases in three states have been confirmed in dairy cattle in the last 30 days. Most of these cases have been detected in California.
Not typically fatal in dairy cattle, HPAI can severely affect milk production, lead to serious illness in some cows and substantially strain farm operations. The virus is fatal in poultry.
“Taking this proactive step will ensure that we can protect our cattle, poultry, and farmworkers,” Secretary Redding said, in a statement. “We are taking this step after careful consideration, in consultation with dairy and poultry farmers, and after voluntary testing was not adequate to get samples necessary for detection and prevention. Pennsylvania’s large number of farms with both dairy cattle and poultry present unique risks that demand extra vigilance.”
How it will work
Milk samples will be collected from bulk milk tank trucks transporting milk from Pennsylvania farms to processing plants.
If the receiving processing plant is in Pennsylvania, the sample will be collected at the plant by the processor. If the processing plant is outside Pennsylvania, the sample will be collected by the shipper, whether the shipper is an individual farmer or milk cooperative handling milk on behalf of farmers.
Samples must have been taken by trained, certified personnel and submitted to a Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System lab within 48 hours of collection.
Samples will be tested for HPAI. If the virus is detected, it will trigger further investigation to identify the source. Special quarantine measures will be established to contain and eliminate the virus at the source.
Pennsylvania joins only three states without an active HPAI outbreak – Arkansas, Massachusetts and Oklahoma – in requiring precautionary testing at the processor level.
This new measure adds to requirements already in place to help prevent the spread of HPAI. Less than two weeks after the USDA announced bird flu had spilled over to cattle, Pennsylvania led the nation in issuing a quarantine order requiring testing of dairy cattle entering the state. The USDA and other states soon followed Pennsylvania’s move.
“Increased, proactive testing is the only way to confirm that we don’t have the virus in Pennsylvania dairy cows or catch it early and stamp it out if we do, so farms can quickly get back to normal,” said Pennsylvania State Veterinarian Dr. Alex Hamberg, in a statement. “We’ve seen in other states that the virus shows up in milk before cows show clinical signs of illness.”
The virus has spread in other states by moving dairy cows from one farm to another, then it has spread among cows.
Hamburg reminded farmers that the virus can be spread on contaminated equipment, trucks and farmworkers’ footwear and clothing moving between farms and buildings.
Rigorous biosecurity, including disinfecting boots, equipment and vehicles and using footbaths at barn entryways is critical to preventing the spread of this and other diseases.
Detailed information on avian influenza, biosecurity, quarantines, and other measures to protect Pennsylvania agriculture can be found online at https://www.pa.gov/en/agencies/pda/animals/diseases/avian-influenza.html.
