Enhanced bird flu testing coming to nation’s milk supply

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack says a tiered testing strategy will be implemented following the first positive HPAI identification in swine on an Oregon backyard farm.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced plans to implement a tiered strategy this month to increase testing and monitoring for H5N1 avian influenza and its variants within the nation's milk supply.

This decision follows a confirmed case in Oregon last week, where the virus was detected in a backyard farming operation in both poultry and, for the first time, swine.

The USDA will partner with state veterinarians to collect milk samples from dairy operations, beginning in states where H5N1 cases have been detected in dairy cows, poultry or swine. The initiative will...