Source:
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/article295872879.html
3 Idaho dairies now quarantined for bird flu. What’s happening to cows, and what it means
By Angela Palermo November 24, 2024 4:00 AM|
Cases of avian flu have been decimating bird populations and for years, more recently making the jump to sea mammals. This year cases were detected amongst farm animals and even human workers at those farms and while they were contained, experts now say that the number of cases is likely much higher, with countless cases going undetected. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details. By Video Team
Last spring, Cassia County dairy cows were the first to become infected with bird flu in Idaho. The disease quickly swept through farms in the southern portion of the state. Public health officials scrambled to figure out how to protect an industry that’s worth billions of dollars. Now, several months later, Idaho has three dairies under quarantine for bird flu — two in the Treasure Valley, which includes Boise, and one in the Magic Valley in south-central Idaho. State Veterinarian Scott Leibsle said Wednesday that he expected one of the herds to come off of quarantine within a week, once the farm clears a second regulatory test of its milk supply. Since bird flu arrived in Idaho, the state has had to quarantine 35 dairies, he said. The herds that are still affected are rebounding. The state has also reported 41 cases of bird flu in poultry since March.
Infected dairies not identified publicly Idaho hasn’t disclosed which dairies have been affected by the virus. The Idaho Statesman reported in June that dairy farmers have been reluctant to report positive cases or give regulatory agencies open access to their operations. “We were not the first state to endure this, but we were the first state to endure it as hard and as fast as we did,” Leibsle said. “What California is going through right now, we went though in May and June. We’ve got the benefit of six months of hindsight in managing this disease.”...
