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U.S. dairies must now beam samples of new milk to the U.S. Department of Agriculture ( USDA ) so the representation can test them for bird flu , per a novel federal order .
The move , announced Friday ( Dec. 6 ) , builds upon subsist movement by the USDA and other authorities to track the spread of bird flu in dairy herds around the res publica . As of Dec. 5 , H5N1 — a subtype of bird flu — has beendetected in 720 dairy herdsin the U.S. this year .
A federal order will require that dairy producers provide milk samples to authorities so they can test for bird flu.
At least 35 mass have contracted bird flu as a result of working around infected cows . That ’s in addition to 21 people who became infected through photo to sick chick , and an additional two cases whose infection sources are unknown .
Earlier in the outbreak , the USDA mandate that any lactating cows being embark across body politic linesfirst be tested for H5N1and that any convinced tests be reported to the agency . It also launched a voluntaryDairy Herd Status Program , which dairy farm producers could unite to supervise for infections via hebdomadary bulk milk samples . But as of December , only75 herd across 17 stateswere being track through the program .
Now , with the Union order , bulk Milk River testing will be mandate nationwide .
Related : Bird flu could become deadlier if it meld with seasonal influenza virus , expert warn
" This new milk testing strategy will ramp up on those steps to day of the month and will provide a roadmap for states to protect the wellness of their dairy farm herds , " Agriculture SecretaryTom Vilsacksaid in the USDA proclamation .
" Among many outcomes , this will give farmers and farmworkers better self-assurance in the safety of their brute and power to protect themselves , " he enounce , " and it will put us on a path to quickly control and break off the computer virus ' open across the nation . "
Specifically , the order mandates that , upon petition , any entity that send or holds Milk River mean for pasteurisation submit sample to the USDA . It also involve that ruck owners with cows that examine overconfident provide info to help the USDA track the bedspread of disease among the oxen . Finally , it necessitate private laboratories and state veterinarians to report to the USDA any in the buff milk samples that test positive for bird flu .
The main motivation behind the order is to help federal agency determine the oscilloscope of the eruption and track its spread . Where need , " enhanced biosecurity metre " can then be implemented to aid prevent the counterpane to additional cows , the USDA noted . The enhanced surveillance could also inform strategy to help guard farmworkers from the transmission .
— How to avoid bird flu
— H5N1 doll flu is develop to better infect mammalian , CDC study indicate
— Teen sickened with Canada ’s first human event of bird flu is in critical condition — and the source remain a mystery
As of yet , there ’s no evidence that H5N1 is spreading from person to mortal ; so far , people have only get the virus from beast . However , a study released Thursday ( Dec. 5)highlighted just how fiddling the computer virus would have to evolveto starting line spreading between people .
A undivided mutation involve one of the virus ’s key protein could make it a " match " for human cells , setting up a key half mask whose tumble could lead to apandemic .
" The more mass that get infected , the more likelihood is that … that variation will get choose for,“Ian Wilson , a structural biologist at the Scripps Research Institute and one of the study ’s writer , previously told Live Science .
The new testing plan rollout will set out Dec. 16 , initially in California , Colorado , Michigan , Mississippi , Pennsylvania and Oregon , according to Reuters .
tag skirt flu will assist authorities ensure that the commercial-grade Milk River supply remains good , the USDA argument take note . Importantly , though , the commercial milk supply is already pasteurized — heated to pour down microbe — so any H5N1 that might be in the milk is counterbalance before it is sold . Several discipline haveconfirmed that pasteurization inactivates the virus .
However , health authorities dowarn against consuming products made with unpasteurized , or " bare-ass , " milk , which could set a risk of infection if they ’re contaminated with H5N1 . Recently , the California - based dairy company Raw Farmissued a recallafter its products test positive for the virus . Consuming tender Milk River also carries a peril of contractingother serious transmission .
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intend to offer aesculapian advice .
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