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Colorado, ‘Bird Flu Epicenter,’ Mandates Weekly Milk Testing

July 24, 2024
The state reports soaring numbers of flock and human infections of avian influenza; USDA dispatches a ‘strike team.’

With a Denver media outlet calling Colorado the “bird flu epicenter,” that state has mandated dairies to perform weekly testing on milk for the presence of avian influenza (H5N1).

Bird flu has been confirmed in 47 dairy herds in the state since the U.S. outbreak in cows began in late March, with about 60% of the cases detected in the past month, according to U.S. data. The disease has wiped out 3.1 million egg-laying chickens in Colorado in recent weeks, about 70% of the state's laying hens, and at least eight poultry or dairy workers also tested positive.

Reuters reported the largest cluster of human cases to date in the U.S. occurred on a Colorado farm this month. Six farm workers tested positive for bird flu in July after culling chickens at an infected egg farm, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment said on July 19. All had mild symptoms, including conjunctivitis (pink eye) and common respiratory infection symptoms. None was hospitalized.

USDA dispatched an epidemiological "strike team" to Colorado this week to assist. Nationally, 13 states have reported infections in about 168 herds since spring.

The FDA perfomed sample testing of grocery store milks back in April and found "inactive fragments" of avian influenza in about 20% of pasteurized milk in retail stores. But the agency reaffirmed earlier statements that pasteurization appears to kill the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), and the country’s milk supply remains safe.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.

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