Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Bird flu has hit nine herds

The United States Department of Agriculture has confirmed that dairy herds in nine states are infected with highly-pathogenic  H5N1 virus commonly known as avian influenza.

Four of those herds are in Colorado, where the first infection was detected in the northeastern part of the state in April.


The USDA and the Colorado Department of Agriculture are asking farmers and ranchers to watch for signs of infection.


The first case in a cow was discovered in Texas after a farm cat died and was found infected with the flu.


Canadians and Americans are now testing milk for traces of the virus. 


Meanwhile, three flocks have the virus and have been euthanized.


One is a turkey farm in Iowa with 103,000 birds and two are egg-laying facilities in Minnesota with a total of 5.7 million hens.