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Late yesterday afternoon Hogvet51 broke the news that 8 dairy herds had tested positive for H5N1 in the State of Utah, a little more than two weeks after an outbreak of the B3.13 `bovine' genotype was detected in a large poultry operation in Cache County.
Utah, having never reported HPAI in cattle, announced a week ago that bulk milk testing would commence in the affected county.
UDAF Enacts Mandatory Surveillance of HPAI in Cache County Dairies
Officials with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) have enacted mandatory surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in all dairies in Cache County. UDAF inspectors will collect bulk tank samples weekly from all Cache County dairy facilities; at this time Federal funding is available to cover the cost of this testing and there will be no additional cost to producers. In the event of a positive test, the dairy will be placed under a quarantine and no movement of lactating cattle will be permitted on or off the facility with the exception of cows going direct to slaughter.
HPAI is a disease that is highly contagious and often fatal in poultry and can be caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5) and A (H7) viruses. HPAI is often transmitted by wild birds to domestic poultry. In March 2024, HPAI H5N1 was first detected in dairy cattle in Texas and has spread to 14 other states including Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado.
Genetic sequencing has confirmed that the HPAI H5N1 virus recently detected in a Cache County commercial poultry facility is the same one that has impacted dairy cattle in other states. Currently, there have been no confirmed cases of HPAI in Utah dairies.
Late yesterday the Utah Department of Agriculture & Food announced that 8 dairies in Cache County had tested positive for the avian flu virus. This information has not yet been added to the USDA map and case count.
Officials with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in 8 commercial dairy facilities in Cache County. Mandatory surveillance of HPAI was put into effect for all dairies in Cache County on October 23, 2024. Initial samples from all Cache County dairies were sent to the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Logan and were confirmed by the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL). Positive dairies have been placed under a quarantine; no movement of lactating cattle is permitted on or off affected facilities with the exception of cattle going direct to slaughter. Positive dairies have also been asked to implement biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of virus off of the dairy.
“Enacting mandatory surveillance and animal movement restrictions are important steps in preventing the further spread of this disease. At this time we don’t anticipate any major impacts on the food supply and the overall impacts to individual dairies are relatively minimal. This disease is not as harmful to dairy cattle as it is to poultry.” — State Veterinarian Dr. Daniel Christensen.
UDAF is working closely with dairy producers and federal, state, and local partners on response plans, surveillance, and testing. Dairy and poultry owners should vigilantly watch their herds and flocks for signs of HPAI and practice strong biosecurity measures; funding is available for producer costs for enhancing biosecurity plans. Dairy cattle signs include decreased milk production; thicker, colostrum-like milk; decrease in feed consumption; dehydration; and fever. Most dairy cattle recover within a few weeks. Livestock owners and veterinarians must report signs of HPAi immediately to the State Veterinarian’s Office at statevet@utah.gov. It’s important to note that not all dairy cattle will exhibit symptoms and that all dairies should practice good biosecurity measures.
Once again we find that HPAI H5 has been flying under the radar in dairy cattle because of a lack of a cohesive, and mandatory, testing policy. Had this B3.13 `cattle' strain not unexpectedly turned up in local poultry, then this outbreak in Utah dairies would likely still be spreading unnoticed.
With a few exceptions, decisions on testing, on the use of PPE by farm workers, and on implementing biosecurity are all pretty much up to the dairy owners.
Since many farmers have decided that `Don't test, don't tell' is better for their bottom line, we have no idea how widespread the avian virus is in American cattle. Or in pigs, or other farmed animals for that matter.
We may get lucky, and H5N1 will `burn itself out' without producing a pandemic strain.
But if we continue to treat avian flu as more of an economic or political problem than as a genuine public health concern, our luck may eventually run out.