#18,269
California, which has the largest number of dairy farms in the country, announced late yesterday they are investigating the possible HPAI H5 infection of cows at 3 dairies located in the central Valley. First the announcement, after which I'll have a bit more.
CDFA Statement on possible introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza at California dairy farms
8/29/24
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is investigating the possible introduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) at three dairy farms in the Central Valley. Should HPAI be confirmed, it is important to note that pasteurization is fully effective at inactivating the virus and there is no milk or dairy product safety concern for consumers.
With the detection of HPAI in dairies elsewhere in the US in recent months, CDFA has been engaged with private veterinarians, farmers and ranchers, and local, state and federal partners to develop response plans and actively monitor for the disease in livestock and poultry throughout California. CDFA has taken steps to reduce the risk of entry of infected dairy cattle into the state, has maintained rapid response capability used during past detections of HPAI in poultry, and is prepared to respond to detections in cattle. If these cases are confirmed, CDFA will continue working closely with the California Department of Public Health, and local agricultural and public health officials, to understand the extent of the introduction and support animal health and public health activities with the goal of limiting exposure to virus while the impacted herds develop immunity.
Samples have been submitted from these three sites to our California Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) laboratory. Any positive tests at our California lab would be considered “presumptive” and submitted to the USDA for final confirmation (typically within a few days). As with most influenza infections in cattle, infected dairy cows would be expected to recover within a few weeks.
Since we are now more than 4 months since the USDA's order requiring Mandatory HPAI Testing Prior to Interstate Movement Of Cattle, figuring out how (and when) HPAI reached Californian cattle should be of considerable interest.
The CDFA reports they have been `. . . engaged with private veterinarians, farmers and ranchers . . . ', but exactly how much cooperation they are getting is unknown. In other states we've seen considerable resistance to testing by dairy interests.
California's statement - like many we've seen coming from other states - stresses the safety of the milk supply due to pasteurization. In their words `. . . there is no milk or dairy product safety concern for consumers.'
However, raw milk sales are legal in California (from approved dairies).
This from the California Department of Public Health:
Are raw milk and raw milk products available in California?
Raw milk from cows, sheep, and goats may be legally sold in California if a dairy farm in California meets specific requirements for sanitation and licensing. Animals at the facilities and farms that are approved to sell raw milk in California must be tested for specific diseases, including brucellosis and tuberculosis. Farm workers at these facilities must also be free from infectious germs that can contaminate milk and make people sick.
However, these requirements cannot guarantee that a dairy farm will produce raw milk dairy products that are free from harmful germs. These requirements also cannot guarantee that raw milk products are as safe to eat or drink as pasteurized milk products. That is why farms that produce and sell raw milk must include a warning label on all raw milk dairy products that tells people that the product they are buying may contain germs that can make them sick. In fact, although these precautions and legal requirements are in place, contamination of raw milk still occurs, and there have been recent disease outbreaks and recalls of raw milk products in California.
While currently only 13 states have reported HPAI H5 in cattle (see map below) - given the lack of mandatory testing - we really can't say how widespread the virus truly is, or how quickly it is spreading.
Meanwhile, the virus continues to spread from cattle into other species (cats, mice, humans, even back into birds), and where that eventually leads is anyone's guess.
Given the stakes - and our policy of `don't test, don't tell' - we better hope we get lucky.
