DENVER (Colorado, US), April 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Avian influenza has been confirmed in dairy cows in Colorado, making the Centennial State the ninth in the U.S. to see the highly contagious virus jump from bird to cattle.
According to the state Department of Agriculture, the Colorado State Veterinarian Office was alerted on April 22 that a dairy herd in northeastern Colorado was exhibiting symptoms of H5N1, or the bird flu. In cattle, bird flu symptoms include decreased feed intake, decreased milk production, and abnormal milk when it is produced.
“Samples submitted to the Colorado State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory tested presumptive positive for HPAI on April 24 and were confirmed by the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] National Veterinary Services Laboratory on April 25,” the Colorado Department of Agriculture said.
Infected cattle do tend to recover, Colorado Department of Agriculture said.
One day prior to the confirmation of bird flu in Colorado cows, the USDA announced actions to limit the spread, including testing cows before they cross state lines.
“We continue to see this ongoing HPAI outbreak evolve and over the last month have seen transmission of the virus now move into dairy cattle. While we don’t yet completely understand the mechanism of transmission of this virus, we do know that it appears to be spreading from cow to cow and between herds,” said Colorado State Veterinarian Dr. Maggie Baldwin in a statement provided by the state Department of Agriculture.
“It is critically important that producers implement enhanced biosecurity measures to mitigate the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza.” — NNN-AGENCIES
