US government allocates US$200M to tackle avian flu spread and keep beef and milk supplies safe

13 May 2024 --- The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has revealed a series of measures to tackle the ongoing impact of avian flu (H5N1) in US dairy cattle. These include a cash injection of US$101 million for the prevention and treatment initiatives and up to US$28,000 per farm to enhance testing and biosecurity measures for curbing the virus’ spread.

The USDA will provide funds worth US$98 million to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to fund these initiatives. “If needed, USDA has the authority, with Congressional notification, to make additional funds available,” it says.

The USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are jointly targeting risk management for livestock, owners and producers through financial tools for lost milk production in herds affected by H5N1. 

“The USDA is taking a series of additional steps to help achieve these goals and reduce the impact of H5N1 on affected premises and producers and HHS is announcing new actions through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and FDA to increase testing and laboratory screening and testing capacity, genomic sequencing and other interventions to protect the health and safety of dairy and other potentially impacted food items,” states the USDA.

“Building on the Federal Order addressing pre-movement testing, these steps will further equip producers with tools they can use to keep their affected herds and workers healthy and reduce the risk of the virus spreading to additional herds.”

USDA will pay US$2000 per affected premises/month to producers establishing a system to heat treat all waste milk.WHO recently warned that the ongoing spread of avian influenza poses a “significant public health concern” and urged health authorities to monitor infections in cows closely, in turn instigating fear of the virus spillover from cows to humans.

Supporting dairy producers
The USDA is working toward mitigating the “potential” spread of the virus between humans and animals through financial support (up to US$2,000 per affected premises per month) for producers who supply personal protective equipment to employees.

This is applicable to producers who “facilitate the participation of their workers in USDA/CDC workplace and farmworker study,” along with financial incentives for the participating workers.

The agriculture authority is also developing “biosecurity plans” for individuals who routinely move between dairy farms — milk haulers, veterinarians, feed trucks and AI technicians. Additionally, it will provide a US$100 payment to producers who buy and use an “in-line sampler” for their milk system.

Meanwhile, heat treatment performed according to the standards set by the FDA is the sole method currently considered to “effectively inactivate the virus in milk.”

“If a producer establishes a system to heat treat all waste milk before disposal, USDA will pay the producer up to US$2,000 per affected premises per month,” notifies the USDA.

Testing and transportation
The USDA will cover veterinary costs incurred for treating infected cattle, along with fees for veterinarians to collect samples for testing, to relieve dairy farmers of monetary stress during treatment. 

The USDA is limiting the movement of lactating cattle to contain the virus' spread across borders.It will also pay for shipping samples to National Animal Health Laboratory Network laboratories, which should be at most US$50 per shipment for up to two monthly shipments for each affected facility.

The H5N1 infection “dramatically” limits milk production in dairy cows, causing economic losses for producers with affected premises, notes the USDA. Given this impact, the organization is also compensating producers for the loss of milk production.

“USDA is working closely with federal partners at FDA, which has the primary responsibility for the safety of milk and dairy products, by assisting with conducting lab testing at USDA labs,” underscores the agriculture authority.

Meanwhile, it is also working with states to “limit movement of lactating cattle” to limit the spread of H5N1 between herds further.

Public health focus
The HHS is also urgently approaching the outbreak with a focus on public health protection, food supply safety, through its response team which includes four agencies – CDC, FDA, NIH and ASPR.

These organizations are working closely with USDA to ensure the health, safety and awareness of humans and the safety of food supply while also monitoring any trends to “mitigate risk and prevent the spread of H5N1 among both people and animals.”

The HHS has invested US$101 million to mitigate H5N1 risk for the public.The CDC is monitoring the virus to detect any changes that may increase the risk to people, with US$34 million invested in testing and virus sequencing, support manufacture, storage and distribution of influenza diagnostic test kits.

Further, it has invested US$29 million to scale up existing efforts to monitor people who are exposed to infected birds and poultry.

Safeguarding commercial milk 
The FDA has also announced an additional US$8 million to support its ongoing response activities to ensure the safety of the commercial milk supply. 

“This funding will support the agency’s ability to validate pasteurization criteria, conduct surveillance at different points in the milk production system, bolster laboratory capacity and provide needed resources to train staff on biosecurity procedures.”

Additionally, these funds will aid H5N1 activities in partnership with state co-regulatory partners, who administer state programs as part of the federal/state milk safety system. 

By Insha Naureen