Iowa has become the tenth US state to have confirmed a case of avian influenza (bird flu) in a dairy cow herd, according to officials.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) detected the case in O’Brien County, Iowa.
Since March, APHIS has confirmed over 80 cases of bird flu on dairy farms in South Dakota, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Kansas, Idaho, New Mexico and Colorado.
Three workers on US dairy farms have also contracted mild cases of bird flu from cattle.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said it continues to believe the threat to the general public remains low.
Bird flu
On May 28, an egg facility with 4.2 million laying hens in Sioux County in Iowa was infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
On Saturday (June 2), a turkey flock in Cherokee County with about 103,000 birds was also infected.
Officials said that epidemiological investigations are ongoing to try to determine how the virus was introduced into the flocks and herd.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said that it will announce additional response measures.
In the meantime, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig has appealed to farmers to increase their biosecurity measures.
“Given the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) within dairy cattle in many other states, it is not a surprise that we would have a case given the size of our dairy industry in Iowa.
“While lactating dairy cattle appear to recover with supportive care, we know this destructive virus continues to be deadly for poultry.
“Our team at the department has been preparing for this possibility and will soon be announcing additional response steps to protect our flocks and herds.
“Poultry producers and dairy farmers should immediately take steps to harden their biosecurity defenses, limit unnecessary visitors, and report symptomatic birds or cattle to the department,” he said.
Naig added that this is “an evolving situation” and his department will continue to be in close communication with stakeholders, USDA, and other states as they evaluate their response.
“Our top priority is to protect our livestock and the farmers and people who care for them,” he said.
On May 30, USDA allocated an additional $824 million to help APHIS to continue its work with state and local partners to quickly identify and address cases of bird flu in poultry and livestock.
Officials stressed that there is no concern over the safety of pasteurised milk or dairy products for consumers.
They said that pasteurisation has continually proven to successfully inactivate bacteria and viruses, like influenza, in milk.