New research explains spread, financial assistance now available
Surveillance sampling, including bulk tank and individual cow samples, has not yet detected HPAI in California. Across the nation however 192 U.S. dairy herds have been confirmed infected with “Bird Flu”. Given limited testing data, this certainly underestimates the true extent of the outbreak. Considerable progress has been made in understanding both viral transmission and food safety. In addition, there is new financial assistance available for producers managing both infected and uninfected farms.
Dairy Food Safety Reaffirmed – FDA announced results of its second round of commercial dairy product sampling. Consistent with the first round of FDA testing, the “Gold Standard” egg inoculation assay confirms that pasteurization inactivates any virus present.
Transmission Pathways Confirmed – Recent studies by USDA support that milk contamination remains the most important method of viral transfer. This is consistent with other recent research demonstrating that the virus can live on milking equipment for at least an hour. Transmission however can also occur through nose or mouth contact with infected cows.
Vaccine Research Underway – USDA reports that at least two dozen companies are developing a cattle vaccine for Avian Influenza. In addition the US Department of Health and Human Services awarded $176 million to the Moderna company to develop a mRNA vaccine for humans, similar to recent COVID vaccines.
Funding for Uninfected Farms – USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will compensate producers for consultation costs up $1,500 to develop biosecurity plans, audits or employee training. APHIS will also pay up to $100 per month for shipping surveillance samples to a certified lab. Finally, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is offering direct loans for biosecurity measures including physical barriers to wildlife and unauthorized visitors.
Funding for Infected Farms – In addition to the above, for infected premises APHIS will pay up to $8,000 to implement on-farm heat treatment for hospital milk. APHIS will also pay up to $10,000 for veterinary costs related to HPAI and up to $2,000 per month for employee PPE. Finally, USDA FSA is providing payments for milk lost due to HPAI. Most California operations however may not meet the program’s average gross income (AGI) limitation of $900,000.