The Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that dairy herds in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Idaho, and New Mexico have highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
When dairy cows get the virus, they stop lactating as much, lose their hunger, and their milk gets thicker.
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture says that there have been no reports of HPAI in cattle up to this point. The CDC reported that on April 1, a dairy farm worker in Texas tested positive for HPAI.
The head of the CDC, Dr. Mandy Cohen, told Talk Business & Politics yesterday in Northwest Arkansas that the agency is looking into the latest case of transfer between the sick cow and the man from Texas who worked with it. She said that so far, infections in mammals have had mild signs and that there are vaccines that can be used.
“We want to know if the virus is changing in any way.” “It doesn’t look like it is right now,” she said.
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture and the Arkansas Department of Health are keeping an eye on things and taking precautions to protect the health of people and animals in the state.
The following limits on imports are in effect right away because they are required by state law. If a dairy cow shows clinical signs and tests positive for HPAI, it will not be allowed to enter the state. All dairy cows coming into Arkansas from states where HPAI has been found in dairy cows will need to get a permit from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture and may have to go through pre-movement testing as decided by the state doctor.
If you don’t follow these import rules, all of your imported animals will be quarantined for 21 days and must pass a PCR test for HPAI before they can be released from confinement.
To stop the disease from spreading, state officials are telling all growers, but especially dairy and chicken farmers, to put in place strict biosecurity measures on their farms.
Arkansas makes the 46th most milk of all the states. Arkansas Farm Bureau says that dairy farms in the state bring in about $11 million a year. The state has 30 registered dairy farms that make 7 million gallons of milk every year.
