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Penn State testing dairy herd for avian flu
Updated: 8:02 AM EDT Jul 22, 2024
Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences says they are are testing the university's dairy herd for avian influenza out of "an abundance of caution."
The announcement comes as an outbreak of bird flu has affected dairy cattle in more than a dozen states since March, a statement from the college said.
The testing will done through a voluntary state testing program, which is aimed at getting data on the status of dairy herds in Pennsylvania and detecting bird flu as quickly as possible.
"The state herd monitoring program calls for conducting a weekly test of milk from a farm for three weeks," Penn State Extension veterinarian Ernest Hovingh said in a statement. "If all tests are negative and no clinical signs of the disease are observed, the herd is considered 'unaffected.' At that point, weekly testing would continue, to ensure that the herd remains free of the virus."
For herds that are not part of the testing program, those animals do have to be tested before crossing state lines.
"Because Penn State does not move dairy cows across state lines, our herd has not been subjected to testing so far," Hovingh said. "But participating in this program will allow us to determine if our herd is in fact HPAI-free, as strongly expected, and also will provide additional data to inform state and national surveillance efforts."
The college says the chances of a positive test are remote, but if it happens, Penn State and state officials will "immediately investigate further."
The test results will be released after a series of three weekly tests have been completed.
Updated: 8:02 AM EDT Jul 22, 2024
Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences says they are are testing the university's dairy herd for avian influenza out of "an abundance of caution."
The announcement comes as an outbreak of bird flu has affected dairy cattle in more than a dozen states since March, a statement from the college said.
The testing will done through a voluntary state testing program, which is aimed at getting data on the status of dairy herds in Pennsylvania and detecting bird flu as quickly as possible.
"The state herd monitoring program calls for conducting a weekly test of milk from a farm for three weeks," Penn State Extension veterinarian Ernest Hovingh said in a statement. "If all tests are negative and no clinical signs of the disease are observed, the herd is considered 'unaffected.' At that point, weekly testing would continue, to ensure that the herd remains free of the virus."
For herds that are not part of the testing program, those animals do have to be tested before crossing state lines.
"Because Penn State does not move dairy cows across state lines, our herd has not been subjected to testing so far," Hovingh said. "But participating in this program will allow us to determine if our herd is in fact HPAI-free, as strongly expected, and also will provide additional data to inform state and national surveillance efforts."
The college says the chances of a positive test are remote, but if it happens, Penn State and state officials will "immediately investigate further."
The test results will be released after a series of three weekly tests have been completed.
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