The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a dairy herd in Idaho. APHIS shared on March 29 that its National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, was working to confirm presumptive positive test results from an Idaho herd; this announcement is a follow-up to that information. 

This marks the first known case of HPAI in cattle in Idaho. To date, USDA has confirmed the detection of HPAI in dairy herds in Texas (7), Kansas (2), Michigan (1) and New Mexico (1). 

The NVSL is currently performing confirmatory tests on presumptive positive results from Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio and Texas. It is important to note that, while these samples are from cattle with at least some clinical signs in common with other cattle diagnosed with HPAI, the presence of HPAI should not be considered confirmed until the NVSL analysis is complete. 

APHIS has created a landing page with recent announcements pertaining to HPAI detections in livestock, as well as biosecurity information and other resources. Going forward, APHIS will post confirmed detections of HPAI in livestock on that landing page by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time each day. 

APHIS continues to work closely with the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as state veterinary and public health officials, to investigate and diagnose the illness in dairy cows causing decreased lactation, low appetite and other clinical signs.

USDA and federal and state partners will continue to share additional updates as information becomes available. APHIS has also prepared a Frequently Asked Questions document, which can be accessed here, as well as a document with recommendations for state animal health officials, veterinarians and producers, which is available here. 

Federal and state agencies continue to conduct additional testing in swabs from sick animals and in unpasteurized clinical milk samples from sick animals, as well as viral genome sequencing, to assess whether HPAI or another unrelated disease may be underlying any symptoms.

There continues to be no concern that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health.

On farms where HPAI has been confirmed or is suspected, if milk is intended to be used to feed calves or other animals, including pets, FDA strongly encourages that it be pasteurized or otherwise heat-treated to kill harmful bacteria and viruses, such as influenza, before feeding to livestock or other animals. FDA posted a document with questions and answers regarding milk safety during HPAI outbreaks.

Federal agencies are also working with state and industry partners to encourage producers and veterinarians to report cattle illnesses quickly so that agencies can monitor potential additional cases and minimize the impact and risk to farmers, farmworkers, consumers and other animals. Producers are urged to work with their veterinarian to report cattle illnesses quickly and practice enhanced biosecurity measures. More information on biosecurity measures is available here.

Source: USDA's APHIS