Federal Order in Effect to Test Bulk Milk for HPAI

By Hope Kassube

On December 6, 2024, the National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS) was announced, requiring additional testing for and reporting of HPAI in livestock and milk. The program focuses on testing bulk milk with the goal of eliminating H5N1 in US dairy cattle. Upon request from APHIS, any farm, bulk milk transporter, bulk milk transfer station, or dairy processing facility with raw milk for pasteurization must allow APHIS to test for the disease.  Laboratories and state veterinarians must report positive influenza A nucleic acid detection results to APHIS, and owners of positive herds will be required to provide basic epidemiological information, including animal movement logs. 

The program can be broken down into five stages:

1. Implementing national plant silo monitoring
2. Determining a state's H5N1 dairy cattle status
3. Detecting and responding to the virus in affected states
4. Demonstrating ongoing absence of H5 in dairy cattle in unaffected states

 With the ultimate goal of:

5. Demonstrating freedom from H5 in US dairy cattle

This order complements the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture program requiring bulk milk testing for HPAI, which was enacted in November of 2024, and builds on the April 2024 Federal Order requiring mandatory testing for the interstate movement of lactating dairy cattle.

There have not yet been any cases of HPAI in PA dairy cattle, but there have been a total of 720 confirmed cases across 15 states since the beginning of the outbreak.