There’s never a good time to drink raw milk. But now’s a really bad time as bird flu infects cows Helen Branswell By Helen Branswell April 29, 2024

https://www.statnews.com/2024/04/29/bird-flu-raw-milk-h5n1-risk-us-cattle/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_y-FhL_7RBkV90IRMqmfUlI-6Ubyeua6JXWwr3ZMH5Q4KIRrp3_oCf3cINfQ5UaGgGAnNemcnMbaNpUIHNcoFDh6SP2Q&_hsmi=304722775&utm_content=304722775&utm_source=hs_email New federal rules aimed at limiting the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus among dairy cattle go into effect today, but detailed guidance documents released Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture reveal its mandatory testing order is less stringent than initially described. While that eases concerns from farmers and veterinarians about the economic and logistical burden of testing, it leaves questions about how effective the program will be at containing additional outbreaks. The initial order last Wednesday required farms to ensure lactating dairy cows test negative before being moved across state lines. On Friday, USDA narrowed the scope, saying that farmers only have to test up to 30 animals in a given group. Read more from STAT’s Megan Molteni on whether experts think that will be enough to detect and contain more outbreaks. And as a reminder: The risk of infection from ingesting milk is believed to be very low because pasteurization should kill the virus. And while scientists generally warn against drinking raw milk, it may be even riskier to do so now, STAT’s Helen Branswell reports. Experts told her that if a raw-milk consumer inadvertently drank milk from infected cows, the results could be bad. Read more from Helen on the danger of raw milk as bird flu continues to spread among dairy cows. Cattle testing for H5N1 bird flu will be more limited than USDA initially announced Megan Molteni By Megan Molteni April 26, 2024 https://www.statnews.com/2024/04/26/h5n1-bird-flu-usda-cattle-testing-order-more-limited/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9HB6VqJlC-jBGyb2RAtpUg3Gh2S6sKwHMagxry391o4R_opwKj5ce9w151C17MHt3fjrpGkjS62vF2ZF9El_E6Y6yu9g&_hsmi=304722775&utm_content=304722775&utm_source=hs_email