Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)
On March 25, 2024, a mystery illness that had been impacting dairy herds in the Texas Panhandle, New Mexico and Kansas was officially diagnosed as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Also known as bird flu, the same strain has been affecting the U.S. poultry flock for the past two years. The Dairy Herd team is tracking the HPAI cases to keep you aware of any changes while providing information you can use to elevate your knowledge and what the evolving dynamics could mean to your operation.
Officials have confirmed the first case of highly pathogenic avian flu in a Wisconsin dairy herd.
A new report details the need for more ag funding to address existing weeds, insects and diseases as well as agronomic problems that have yet to reach U.S. shores.
“We typically don’t see avian influenza until January or February,” says Rebecca Eifert Joniskan, president of the Indiana State Poultry Association. “This year we started October 9.”
Megin Nichols, the CDC’s director in the division of foodborne, waterborne and environmental diseases, explains the ties between human, animal and environmental health.
Since Brazil confirmed the country’s first HPAI outbreak, others like China and now the European Union have suspended poultry imports.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins says the agency is hyper-focused on poultry, but no vaccine is yet available. The agency has ‘separate work streams’ to address the virus in the ‘cattle and dairy’ industries, but dairy is not part of USDA’s primary focus for now.
The poultry industry is one of the biggest demand drivers for corn and soybean meal, but HPAI is eating into sales.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins confirms those payments will be released before the March 21 current deadline in an exclusive interview with Farm Journal on Thursday morning. She also outlined the timing of the $1 billion just announced to combat avian flu.
The plan, announced by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, dedicates up to $500 million to help poultry producers implement biosecurity measures and up to $400 million in financial relief for farmers whose flocks are affected by avian flu.
USDA is working to get more eggs into the supply chain in the short-term, but U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says a team is focused on coming up with a long-term strategy to combat avian flu.
Spearheaded by National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, the plan prioritizes enhanced biosecurity measures and medication to control the spread of the virus and moves away from mass culling of infected flocks.
Sec. Mike Naig says the U.S. government is using what he describes as a three-legged stool approach to address the virus in the dairy and poultry industries.
According to the January 2025 Food Price Outlook, egg prices saw the biggest spike, up 37% year-over-year. When you look ahead, USDA expects outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to continue to cause egg prices to climb.
California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones has issued a statewide ban on dairy cattle and poultry exhibitions to combat the spread of H5N1 Avian Influenza. The ban will remain in place until the outbreak is under control—here’s what you need to know.
Bird flu has infected three more people from Washington state after they were exposed to poultry that tested positive for the virus, according to health authorities in Washington and in Oregon, where the human cases were identified.
In a special report of The PORK Podcast, Andrew Bowman, DVM, tackles some of host Jennifer Shike’s questions about USDA’s announcement that H5N1 was discovered in a pig for the first time ever.
USDA announced on Oct. 30 the first reported case of H5N1 in a pig in an Oregon backyard farm.
Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas are participating in the voluntary pilot program. Additional testing for the virus is also underway in aged raw-milk cheese, cream cheese, butter and ice cream.
Floodwaters breached levees in parts of Iowa on Tuesday, with more flooding anticipated for Wednesday. The damage to row-crop and livestock operations is likely significant, according to state officials.
Shared employment, housing and movement of employees between facilities are possible factors. Such insights could potentially be leveraged to address biosecurity needs in the state and others as well, the agency says.
This is the third human case associated with the virus. Last week the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a plan to produce 4.8 million doses of a vaccine for human use to counter H5N1.
The cattle markets breathed a sigh of relief after USDA announced negative test results for H5N1 in ground beef. And a former USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety says is unlikely to be found in beef in the future.
The outbreak of the HPAI H5N1 virus in dairy has sent cattle prices on a rollercoaster ride. The market digested both good and bad news this week, but one analyst cautions volatility will continue into summer.
USDA-FSIS said it collected 30 samples from “states with dairy cattle herds that had tested positive for the H5N1 influenza virus at the time of sample collection.” No virus particles were found to be present.
According to FDA, the additional testing confirms the safety of the commercial milk supply with what it calls substantial data. The tests were done on 297 samples of milk from 38 states.
Federal officials are seeking to verify the safety of milk and meat after confirming the H5N1 virus in nine states since late March. The public health risk is low, but is higher for those exposed to infected animals.
The agency will provide reimbursement for testing at an approved National Animal Health Laboratory Network laboratory.