The Maryland Department of Agriculture this week issued an order restricting movement of dairy cattle into Maryland from states with confirmed outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in their herds.

USDA has announced detections of HPAI in dairy cattle herds in several states — including Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Idaho, Ohio, North Carolina and New Mexico — following increased illness and lower milk production rates among herds.

The USDA’s National Veterinary Laboratory Services confirmed the strain is H5N1, which has been circulating in the wild bird population for the past several years and appears to have been introduced to these herds by wild birds.

Although there have been no detections of HPAI in cattle in Maryland, producers are reminded to practice strong biosecurity. Cattle owners should minimize animal movements and isolate sick cattle. New animals should be quarantined for a minimum of two weeks before introducing them to an established herd.

In addition to the confirmed detections in dairy herds, on April 1 a case of HPAI in a human was reported in Texas and confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This isolated case does not alter the overall human health risk assessment for H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. The CDC considers the risk to the general public to be low. 

The Food and Drug Administration has stated there is no concern about the safety of the milk supply or that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health because products are pasteurized before entering the market. Additionally, dairies are required to send only milk from healthy animals into processing for human consumption.

If milk from cows showing symptoms of illness or exposed to animals infected with avian influenza is intended to be used to feed calves or other animals, the FDA strongly encourages that it be pasteurized or otherwise heat-treated to kill harmful bacteria or viruses.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture advises poultry and livestock owners to adopt the following biosecurity measures: 

Source: Maryland Department of Agriculture