Three weeks ago, dairy cows in Texas and Kansas fell ill with flu-like symptoms. Milk production was lower than usual. Cows ate less and acted sluggishly.
About 10% of dairy cows in herds on farms have been found to have influenza.
The Texas Animal Health Commission announced on March 26 that the cows tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza.
This strain of H5N1 virus is causing outbreaks in the wild and in poultry kept in captivity. Humans can also get the disease and face the risk of death in severe cases.
Several dairy cows in New Mexico are also believed to be infected with H5N1, but they have not yet been tested, Live Science reported on March 27.
The announcements from Texas and Kansas come a week after the United States reported its first cases of avian influenza in goats. The goats on a farm in Stevens County, Minnesota, shared water and pasture with chickens and ducks infected with the flu, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
Based on testing results in Texas, US officials believe that dairy cows here are likely infected with the disease from wild birds.
In response, the U.S. dairy industry says producers have begun to increase biosecurity efforts on U.S. farms, including limiting access to facilities and limiting employee movement to essential personnel only.
Dairy companies in the US are required to only allow milk from healthy animals into the food supply, while milk from sick animals is being diverted or destroyed.
In the rare cases where contaminated milk enters the food supply, pasteurization — a process required for milk sold in interstate commerce — can also eliminate viruses and other bacteria, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed.
“At this time, there is no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that this situation poses a health risk to consumers,” the USDA said.
The US federal government said tests on cattle did not detect any changes to the virus that would make it more likely to spread to people.
While Texas agriculture officials believe cattle are expected to recover, the outbreak could have negative economic consequences for some dairy operations.
“Heavily affected herds with avian influenza can lose up to 40 percent of their milk production within seven to 10 days, until symptoms subside,” the Texas Department of Agriculture said.
For U.S. consumers, however, the USDA said any “reduction in milk supply due to cattle showing symptoms is too limited to have a major impact on supply to date.” Prices for milk and other dairy products will not be affected, the USDA said.
Minh Hoa (t/h according to VTV, Thanh Nien)
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