H5N1 in Dairy Cattle

USDA on March 25 confirmed the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A H5N1 (H5N1) on several dairy farms in the Southwestern United States. Since then, federal and state agencies, veterinarians and public health officials have been working tirelessly with the dairy community and academic institutions to investigate its transmission and provide up-to-date guidance for dairy farms to prevent its spread and protect public health. This webpage aims to provide comprehensive information on H5N1, its impact on dairy farms, and strategies for effective prevention and management.

Confirmed H5N1 Cases

Visit USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) H5N1 webpage for the latest list of confirmed cases in dairy cattle.

Dairy farmers should closely monitor their cattle for illness. Clinical signs in dairy cattle include a decrease in feed consumption with a simultaneous decrease in rumination and rumen motility; respiratory signs including clear nasal discharge; and subsequent acute drop in milk production. Additional clinical signs may include abnormal tacky or loose feces, lethargy, dehydration, and fever. Severely affected cattle may have thicker, concentrated, colostrum-like milk or produce no milk at all.

If you observe clinical signs in your herd consistent with this outbreak, contact your veterinarian immediately. Veterinarians who observe these clinical signs and have ruled out other diagnoses on a client’s farm should contact the state veterinarian, follow USDA’s testing guidance and submit a complete set of samples to a NAHLN laboratory. See below for available financial assistance.

Milk & Meat Safety

FDA and USDA continue to assert that the commercial milk supply is safe because of the pasteurization process and the diversion or destruction of milk from sick cows.

The federal Grade “A” Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) is the global standard for milk safety. No milk from symptomatic dairy cows exposed to H5N1 or other illnesses enters the food supply and should milk from any asymptomatic dairy cow enter a processing facility, pasteurization will destroy H5N1 as well as other viruses and pathogens.

FDA and USDA advise that unpasteurized milk should not be consumed.

All dairy cattle are also subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act and must be slaughtered and processed under inspection by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, ensuring that all meat entering the food supply has been inspected and approved for human consumption.

For more information:

Biosecurity Recommendations for Dairy Farms

Robust biosecurity protocols are critical to preventing and managing H5N1 on dairy farms. Listed below are the top biosecurity tips for producers that emphasize the importance of protecting cattle and their environment from potential sources of H5N1 infection.

Limit Movements of Cattle

USDA strongly recommends minimizing movement of cattle as much as possible. If cattle must be moved, premovement testing of milk samples from lactating cows and nasal swabs for non-lactating cattle, by PCR for Influenza A and H5 virus, at a National Animal Health Laboratory Network laboratory is advised.


Isolate Cattle

Isolate newly introduced cattle and cattle returning from an offsite location for at least 30 days. Move animals with clinical signs to a dedicated hospital or sick pen. Whenever possible, isolated animals should not share confined air space, panels/fence lines, feeding or watering space with other animals on the farm. Dedicate caretakers and equipment to these animals or work with them last, followed by cleaning of equipment, boots, clothing, etc.


Delay or Stop Non-Essential Visitors

Limit cattle contact to individuals who are essential for a dairy’s health and continued operation. Require or provide clean clothing and footwear to anyone entering the farm. Do not allow drivers (milk haulers, renderers, etc.) access to animal housing, animals, or milk products to be fed to calves.


Limit Vehicles and Equipment

Limit the movement of vehicles on and off the premises and establish dedicated routes for vehicles that do come onto the farm. Implement and communicate designated hauling routes on-farm for milk, feed, rendering and delivery trucks. Use trailers to transport only your own livestock and clean, and use an EPA-registered disinfectant effective against HPAI to disinfect trailer interiors that were used to haul cattle.


Clean and Disinfect Equipment

Use EPA-registered disinfectants on contact surfaces (footwear, tires, etc.) before entry in and out of milking areas and other cattle areas. Require disinfection of handling, treatment, milk sampling/testing, breeding and hoof trimming equipment, with particular attention to proper disinfection of milking equipment. Dairy workers should limit contact with other livestock and poultry premises, including livestock and poultry the worker may own. Provide hand-washing stations and disposable gloves, and encourage their use.


Follow Good Milking Practices

Follow good milking practices, with special attention to mammary health. Sanitize milking equipment after use with quarantined animals and after sick cattle.


Avoid Feeding Raw Milk to Calves And Other Farm Animals

Feed only heat-treated colostrum and pasteurized milk and milk products to calves and other farm animals, including cats and other mammalian species. The effect of acidification on milk to inactivate H5N1 is unknown.

Biosecurity Resources

H5N1-Specific Guidance


FARM Program: Everyday Biosecurity

Workforce Safety

While CDC asserts the current risk to the public is low, people working closely with infected or presumed infected animals are at greater risk of infection. Federal and state health agencies are closely monitoring for changes that might indicate the potential for increased transmission of the virus to humans or among humans.

According to CDC’s interim recommendations, people should avoid unprotected exposures to sick or dead animals, as well as raw milk, manure or materials contaminated by animals with confirmed or suspected H5N1 virus infection. When working with infected or potentially infected animals, farm employees should wear personal protective equipment such as an N95 filtering facepiece respirator, eye protection and gloves, and perform thorough hand washing after contact with infected animals, carcasses, milk or manure.

Anyone exposed to HPAI-infected cattle should be monitored for signs and symptoms of acute respiratory illness beginning after their first exposure and for 10 days after their last exposure. If any person develops acute respiratory illness symptoms during the monitoring period, the state health department should be notified and the sick person should be isolated.

For more information:

Available Federal Support

Available Federal Support for All Dairy Farms

USDA is providing financial assistance to help dairy farmers make investments to keep their herds and workers healthy and reduce the risk of H5N1 spread. Interested farmers should contact their APHIS Area Veterinarian in Charge to enroll.

Support for biosecurity planning and implementation

USDA will provide financial support of up to $1,500 per premises for any producer to develop and implement a biosecurity plan based on existing secure milk supply plans. USDA also will provide a $100 payment to producers who purchase and use an in-line sampler for their milk systems.


Shipping costs offset for testing at NAHLN laboratories 

USDA will pay for the cost of shipping samples to NAHLN labs for testing, not to exceed $50 per shipment for up to 2 shipments per month for each premises. USDA is already providing no-cost testing at NAHLN laboratories for samples associated with this event.


Additional Federal Support for Affected Dairy Farms

In addition to the available resources listed above, financial support is available for affected herds to equip farms with tools to keep their employees healthy and reduce the risk of the H5N1 virus spreading to additional herds.

Support To Protect Against The Potential For Spread Between Human And Animals

USDA will provide financial support for producers who supply PPE to employees and/or provide outerwear uniform laundering on affected farms. Up to $2,000 per affected premises per month for producers who facilitate the participation of their workers in USDA/CDC workplace and farmworker study.

 

FUNDING FOR HEAT TREATING AFFECTED MILK

Heat treatment performed in accordance with FDA standards is the only currently available method considered to effectively inactivate the virus in milk. If a producer establishes a system to heat treat all waste milk before disposal, USDA will pay the producer up to $2,000 per affected premises per month.


REIMBURSEMENTS FOR VETERINARIAN COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH CONFIRMED POSITIVE H5N1 CASES

USDA will provide support to producers to cover veterinary costs necessarily incurred for treating cattle infected with H5N1 as well as fees for veterinarians to collect samples for testing. This can include veterinary fees and/or specific supplies needed for treatment and sample collection. Veterinary costs are eligible to be covered from the initial date of positive confirmation for that farm, up to $10,000 per affected premises.


COMPENSATION FOR LOSS OF MILK PRODUCTION FOR HERDS WITH CONFIRMED POSITIVE H5N1 CASES

FSA expanded the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) to assist with financial losses resulting from reduced milk production when cattle are removed from commercial milking in dairy herds having a confirmed positive H5N1 test. Positive test results must be confirmed through the USDA’s APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories. Producers can apply to receive ELAP assistance at local FSA service centers. Learn more here.

Movement Requirements

federal order requiring pre-movement testing for the interstate movement of lactating dairy cattle is currently in effect, requiring a negative H5N1 test result before a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection can be issued.

All laboratories and state veterinarians are also required to report positive H5N1 cases to USDA. For affected farms, the Federal Order will require business owners with dairy cattle that test positive for interstate movement to complete a comprehensive epidemiological questionnaire and provide animal movement tracing.

These requirements are intended to enable USDA to take necessary measures to contain the disease and provide essential data for surveillance and epidemiological research.

Note that individual states may implement additional state-specific requirements for intrastate dairy cattle movements.

FARM Program Expectations

The National Dairy FARM Program requires FARM Evaluators to adhere to strict biosecurity procedures when conducting in-person evaluations. This includes parking vehicles in as clean of an area as possible, wearing clean clothes and disposable boots, and changing clothes between farms or wearing disposable coveralls when visiting multiple farms a day. FARM Evaluators should not visit farms with an active HPAI H5N1 outbreak. Please contact dairyfarm@nmpf.org with any questions.


Second Party Evaluations / Third Party Verifications

  • Evaluators and Verifiers should not visit farms with confirmed HPAI cases until cattle have recovered.
  • Let FARM know ASAP if a due dates need adjustments on a farm with on-going cases.

Biosecurity Expectations

  • Park vehicles in a clean area and away from animal areas or where animals may travel.
  • Wear clean clothes.
  • Only visit one farm a day if possible
  • Do not walk through areas where bird feces may be present before entering livestock areas.
  • Wear disposable boots and/or clean footwear with an EPA-registered disinfectant labeled for  Avian Influenza.
  • Wash hands after removing boots/boot covers.
  • Avoid being in the parlor or barn during milking.
  • Avoid going into the milk house if possible.