Colorado requiring dairies to test milk for bird flu

Colorado will require dairies to test their milk supplies for bird flu every week, the state Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday, as concerns over the avian flu remain high nationwide.

State Veterinarian Maggie Baldwin said Colorado has “not been able to curb the spread of disease at this point,” after about three months of bird flu infection in the state’s livestock populations.

“We have seen devastating impacts of this disease not only to our dairy industry, but our poultry industry as well,” she said in a statement. “With the strong support of the dairy and poultry industries, we feel that this is the best next step in order to protect these vital industries in our state.”

Bird flu is of little risk to humans but has ravaged poultry and cattle populations across the country in the last year. The current outbreak has infected 11 people after contact with infected livestock.

More than 100 million poultry nationwide are infected with the current strain of avian flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 168 dairy herds have also reported infections.

Colorado’s milk surveillance program will help the state track and react to instances of the disease in cattle. Milk from infected cattle is safe to consume, as the pasteurization process of milk kills any pathogens.

The testing requirement was triggered by the mass infection of the state’s chicken population. About 70 percent of Colorado’s chickens were culled due to avian flu infection.

“Mandatory surveillance of highly pathogenic avian influenza across all of Colorado’s Grade A commercial dairies is a critical next step to tamping down the virus and protecting the food system,” state Agriculture Commissioner Kate Greenberg said in a statement.

Colorado has the highest number of reported avian flu cases in the country, the state said.