Commonground
Senior Moderator
New Hampshire Public Radio | By David Brooks - Concord Monitor
Published January 1, 2025
This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
New Hampshire is gearing up to join a federal program testing dairy cattle for virulent strains of bird flu, which so far has been detected here only in some wild birds in early 2024.
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A backyard chicken flock was destroyed in late December in Vermont because it was infected with bird flu.
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Findings of the bird flu are reportable to USDA and listed on a website, 2022–2024 Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. The most recent reports from New Hampshire involve wild ducks collected in Sullivan County in February, 2024.
State veterinarian Steve Crawford said New Hampshire “has not had any domestic animal detections in several years.”
USDA and state Department of Health and Human Services Dairy Sanitation staff are preparing for surveillance of all state dairies, following a December 2024 federal order.
“Our hope is to stand up that program with USDA approval before February 1,” Crawford said. “In the meantime, New Hampshire dairies have been complying with the April 2024 Federal Order that requires testing of individual animals prior to interstate movements. We have also had some dairies participating in a state-run voluntary herd surveillance program for about 5 months.”
Massachusetts and Vermont have been testing dairy herds for some weeks.
One area of concern involves pet cats because felines appear particularly susceptible to the virus.
Bird flu has killed 20 big cats, including cougars and a half-Bengal tiger, at a rehabilitation clinic in Washington state. Domestic cats that kill infected birds can also get infected, leading officials to advise people to keep cats inside in areas where bird flu has been found.
Calls to several Concord-area veterinary clinics found little concern so far with few if any cat owners calling for information or concern.
https://www.nhpr.org/health/2025-01-01/bird-flu-h5n1-cattle-dairy-dairies-avian-influenza
Published January 1, 2025
This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
New Hampshire is gearing up to join a federal program testing dairy cattle for virulent strains of bird flu, which so far has been detected here only in some wild birds in early 2024.
-snip-
A backyard chicken flock was destroyed in late December in Vermont because it was infected with bird flu.
-snip-
Findings of the bird flu are reportable to USDA and listed on a website, 2022–2024 Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. The most recent reports from New Hampshire involve wild ducks collected in Sullivan County in February, 2024.
State veterinarian Steve Crawford said New Hampshire “has not had any domestic animal detections in several years.”
USDA and state Department of Health and Human Services Dairy Sanitation staff are preparing for surveillance of all state dairies, following a December 2024 federal order.
“Our hope is to stand up that program with USDA approval before February 1,” Crawford said. “In the meantime, New Hampshire dairies have been complying with the April 2024 Federal Order that requires testing of individual animals prior to interstate movements. We have also had some dairies participating in a state-run voluntary herd surveillance program for about 5 months.”
Massachusetts and Vermont have been testing dairy herds for some weeks.
One area of concern involves pet cats because felines appear particularly susceptible to the virus.
Bird flu has killed 20 big cats, including cougars and a half-Bengal tiger, at a rehabilitation clinic in Washington state. Domestic cats that kill infected birds can also get infected, leading officials to advise people to keep cats inside in areas where bird flu has been found.
Calls to several Concord-area veterinary clinics found little concern so far with few if any cat owners calling for information or concern.
https://www.nhpr.org/health/2025-01-01/bird-flu-h5n1-cattle-dairy-dairies-avian-influenza