New federal regulations require testing of unpasteurized milk from dairy processors, and farm owners must provide information to assist officials in identifying and tracking cases more effectively. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will start testing the national milk supply for the H5N1 bird flu virus, almost a year after it began affecting dairy cattle, as announced on Friday. As part of this new plan, officials will collect samples of unpasteurized milk from large storage tanks at dairy processing plants nationwide. Farmers and dairy processors must supply raw milk samples to the government upon request. Farm owners with infected herds will need to provide information that helps officials identify additional cases and contacts. The regulations were initially proposed in October and were intended to be put into effect in November. The initial round of testing is now set to start during the week of December. 16, as stated in the announcement on Friday. The new strategy marks a shift from the voluntary guidance that the department provided during the outbreak. Numerous dairy farms have failed to participate in the voluntary testing of milk or dairy workers, resulting in federal officials lacking information on the potential spread of the virus. “I am thoroughly frustrated by our ignorance of the outbreak’s scale in cattle,” stated Seema Lakdawala, a virologist at Emory University. We are currently experiencing difficulties accessing the article content. Kindly enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience as we confirm access. If you are currently in Reader mode, please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe to access all of The Times. We appreciate your patience as we verify your access. Are you already a subscriber? Sign in… Interested in accessing all of The Times? Subscribe.
