Fifteen More States Enroll With USDA Milk Testing Program

By Lisa Schnirring

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that 15 more states have enrolled in its National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS), which boosts the number of participating states to 28 and covers 65% of the nation's milk production.

The USDA unveiled a national milk testing order on December 6, which began with 6 states and spelled out a broader strategy for testing milk in the wake of ongoing outbreaks on dairy farms. On December 17, it announced adding 7 more states, which brought the number to 13, representing 8 of the top 15 dairy-producing states.

Newly added states announced today are Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Iowa, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. The USDA said the additions bring the agency close to its nationwide milk testing goal.

No positives in initial milk testing

Currently, only two states—California and Texas—have active H5N1 detections in dairy cattle. The last detection in Texas was reported on December 13. Confirmations at California dairy farms appear to have slowed, with the latest two detections reported yesterday.

Early results from the NMTS haven't identified any new detections or affected herds in other states. The USDA said any detections found in the NMTS will be reported on its webpage that documents H5N1 detections in livestock.

Vaccine updates for poultry, cattle

In its NMTS announcement today, the USDA also provided updates on where things stand with vaccines for poultry and cows.

Though licensed poultry vaccines exist for some avian flu subtypes, none fully match the more virulent H5N1 strain currently circulating in US poultry. In 2016, the USDA created a poultry vaccine stockpile, but doses have never been deployed. Vaccine rollout in poultry would be difficult and have trade implications.

"USDA believes it is prudent to again pursue a stockpile that matches current outbreak strains," the aency said, adding that the move doesn't mean implementing vaccination is imminent, but rather officials are moving forward with planning, as well as the purchase of vaccine or manufacturing capacity for vaccine.

For cattle, deployment of an H5N1 vaccine matched to the current strain may be more feasible. The USDA said it has streamlined review steps and at least seven candidate vaccines have been approved for field safety trials.

Virus strikes massive egg-laying farm in North Carolina

In related developments, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) over the past 2 days confirmed more poultry outbreaks in six states.

One involves a large layer farm in North Carolina's Hyde County, which has 2.7 million birds. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said the outbreak is the state's first since February 2024.

In Indiana, the virus turned up at a commercial turkey farm in Jay County that has nearly 22,000 birds, the state's first since February 2024.

Also, the virus hit backyard poultry flocks in four states: Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, and West Virginia.