The testing plan, which will involve monthly or weekly sample collection from bulk milk tanks and dairy processors, will be rolled out first in California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Oregon, Vilsack said.
The latter three states have not reported bird flu infections in dairy cattle.
“It gives us the opportunity to get potentially a heads up about potentially new virus in areas of a state that currently has the virus, or new states,” Vilsack said of the testing.
The agency will begin the testing on Dec. 16, Vilsack said.
The pace of testing will depend on whether virus is detected in initial sampling, said Rosemary Sifford, USDA’s chief veterinarian.
The order requires farms and processors to make raw milk available for sampling, and farm owners whose animals test positive for the virus to tell the agency about animal movements and other information.
