BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Milk from Pennsylvania dairies must be bulk tested for avian influenza, state agriculture officials announced Wednesday.
“Taking this proactive step will ensure that we can protect our cattle, poultry and farmworkers,” said state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding in a news release.
“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.”
The precautionary measure — coming at no cost to farmers — is targeted to pinpoint and contain the source of viral infections and prevent the spread of Influenza A, including highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI.
While no cases of the virus have been reported in Pennsylvania cattle, other states have seen a marked uptick in cases.
Procedures are detailed in a quarantine order, also issued Wednesday.
‘More than 200 new cases’
Bird flu is caused by an influenza type A virus, is highly contagious and often fatal in birds. While some wild bird species can carry the virus without becoming sick, HPAI has been affecting both wild waterfowl as well as domestic poultry species since 2022.
The virus jumped from birds to mammals in the Lehigh Valley last year, when a red fox became the first mammal in the region infected. In early May of this year, a bald eagle collected March 11 in Northampton County also tested positive.
In the last 30 days, more than 200 new cases of HPAI have been confirmed in dairy cattle in three states, officials said.
California has seen 202, Utah has seen 13 and Idaho has seen two, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website.
“Not typically fatal in dairy cattle, HPAI can severely affect milk production, lead to serious illness in some cows, and substantially strain farm operations,” officials said.
Only three other states without an active HPIA outbreak — Arkansas, Massachusetts and Oklahoma — are requiring precautionary testing at the processor level, according to the release.
"Pasteurization destroys the virus. This measure will help ensure an adequate supply of milk in the marketplace.”Pennsylvania agriculture officials
“Milk that has been pasteurized is safe to drink,” officials said. “Pasteurization destroys the virus. This measure will help ensure an adequate supply of milk in the marketplace.”
‘Rigorous biosecurity’
Officials will collect milk samples from bulk tank trucks, which transport milk from farms to processing plants.
“If the receiving processing plant is in Pennsylvania, the sample will be collected at the plant by the processor,” according to the release. “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.”
If HPAI is detected in a sample, it will trigger a further investigation into the source, officials said. Then, special quarantine measures will be established to contain and eliminate the virus.
Poultry and dairy are the two largest sectors among Pennsylvania’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry, which supports more than 593,000 jobs statewide.
“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 Alex Hamberg, state veterinarian. “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. It can be carried 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.”
