Salute to Idaho Agriculture: A New Strain Infects Dairy Cows

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — The Bird flu is not an exclusive disease for poultry, but can also infect cows, which have seen an uptick in cases recently.

“Our biggest impact for our dairymen is going to be the economic loss.”

Recently a new strain of the bird flu, genotype D1.1, has been detected in the dairy cow population in Nevada. So far there hasn’t been any difference in effect compared to the older strains. However, it’s still costing farmers.

Rick Naerebout, with the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, explains what farmers look for if their dairy cows are infected.

“So the biggest symptom that they’ll notice is going to be the animal is going off feed, and then drop in milk production. And really the one thing is consistent about bird flu is how it affects each animal is very different.”

Despite the varying symptoms, when the cows get sick, it still hits farmers in their wallets.

“So for dairy producers, again you are looking at about a ten percent to twenty percent drop in milk production and that will last for two to four weeks is what we saw, most common in May and June. And so you do have that lost income”

The bird flu has been an inconvenience to Idaho dairymen, but their poultry counterparts have been through the worst part of the virus.

“When it gets into a poultry population, you know the disease is fatal for birds. And so, it’s very different for us in the dairy industry, we have that lost income, but then those animals come back”

Action has been taken to combat the spread of this current strain of bird flu. The USDA has instituted a national milk testing strategy, which will hopefully decrease the risk of transmission and infection.

“So USDA is requiring all states to begin a bulk tank testing program to where they can try and identify better which states possibly have infected herds and what is the spread and what is the extent of those infected herds”

According to the American Veterinary Medical Associate, a total of 16 states have reported herd infections, mostly California. A state of emergency has been issued as well as a ban and recall on raw milk. Raw milk has the highest risk of carrying the virus and that is why the Idaho Dairymen’s Association backs processed milk.

“Pasteurization kills and inactivates the virus, so when you are consuming dairy products, as long as they’re pasteurized, you know you have no risk of having the virus passed on to you as a consumer. With raw milk, there’s not that pasteurization part of the processing or packaging, so it is concerning for us.”

The risk of bird flu infection is still low, but preventative actions now will slow the spread.

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