USDA Confirms Bird Flu in 12th Dairy Herd, Is Testing More

To date, HPAI was confirmed in seven herds in Texas, two in Kansas, and one each in Idaho, Michigan, and New Mexico.

USDA scientists confirmed the bird flu virus in a dairy herd in Idaho on Tuesday — the 12th herd in five states — with Ohio appearing for the first time on the list of states with “presumptive positive” results that will be double-checked. Meanwhile, officials said a Texas egg farm suffered the largest U.S. outbreak of bird flu in four months.

Authorities said the risk of transmission to people of the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) remained low. The Texas state Agriculture Department said a “dairy worker who had direct contact with cattle” was being treated for bird flu. The CDC said on Monday the patient’s only symptom was eye redness, consistent with conjunctivitis.

USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, conducted the confirmatory tests on the Idaho herd and was conducting the same tests on presumptive positive results from Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, and Texas, said the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

“It is important to note that while these samples are from cattle with at least some clinical signs in common with other cattle diagnosed with HPAI, the presence of HPAI should not be considered confirmed until the NVSL analysis is complete,” said the agency.