Avian influenza has spread to a dairy herd in a second county in eastern Washington, the state Department of Agriculture said on 23 October, Capital Press reports. The USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed the infection in a herd in Benton County; since 8 October USDA has confirmed the virus in eight herds in neighbouring Yakima County.
The Benton County herd is under quarantine and veterinarians are treating sick cows, the department said; most infected cows recover in four to six weeks. "Seeing the virus move to another county is disappointing, but our dairy farmers are working hard to implement their biosecurity plans, share lessons learned and help each other get through this," said state veterinarian Amber Itle.
Farmers are asked to report sick cows to a veterinarian or the department. Signs include lower milk production, milk that looks thicker and yellowish to brown, reduced feed intake, fever, breathing problems and changes in manure. Pasteurised milk from an infected cow is safe to drink, the department said.
Bird flu has circulated in US dairy herds since 2024. The only new cases in the past 30 days have been in Washington, Texas and Kansas, and neighbouring Idaho, with 178 cases in dairy cattle so far, has had none in the past month. The report was written by Don Jenkins.
Photo: Scott Bauer, USDA ARS (Holstein dairy cows) / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Source: Capital Press
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