Colorado ramps up bird flu response, requires milk testing

24/7/2024 7:15

        Colorado began requiring dairies to test milk supplies for bird flu every week, the state's veterinarian told Reuters on Tuesday, as a federal team arrived to help investigate an escalating outbreak in cows that has spread to chickens and people.
        
        The state's new mandate aims to identify additional farms that could be infected and spread the disease to other dairies or poultry flocks, after the largest cluster of human cases to date in the United States occurred on a Colorado farm this month.
        
        Bird flu infections linked to dairy cows have wiped out 3.1 million egg-laying chickens in Colorado in recent weeks, and poultry workers also tested positive.
        
        Colorado has confirmed infections in 47 dairy herds since the U.S. outbreak in cows began in late March, with about 60% of its cases detected in the past month, according to U.S. data. Nationally, 13 states have reported infections in about 168 herds since spring.