Minnesota’s dairy herds have been declared to be currently unaffected by the bird flu virus, the United States Department of Agriculture reported after months of sampling.
The declaration means Minnesota’s Department of Agriculture will only have to test milk samples once every two months instead of monthly. However, there will still be restrictions regarding moving animals between states.
Back in February, the MDA and the Minnesota Board of Animal Health started checking for the H5N1 virus, also known as the avian influenza A virus, in both dairy herds and poultry flocks to help prevent its spread. The bird flu, as it is also known, is highly contagious and can be spread from wild birds to domestic poultry and other animals.
While one case of the virus was found in a dairy herd in March, no other cases have been found. That case was the first time H5N1 was found in a dairy herd since June of last year.
The monitoring will continue until all 50 states reach the status of “unaffected.” Currently, the agency says herds are affected in Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada and Idaho.
Both Wisconsin and Iowa are listed under “Provisional Unaffected,” meaning they are still going through milk testing to determine if the state’s herds are unaffected.
If H5N1 is found in a herd, a case manager will help the farm with responding, including quarantining and follow-up testing, according to the USDA.
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