Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Detected in a Sioux County Dairy, Additional Response Measures and Requests of USDA Announced
DES MOINES, Iowa (June 7, 2024) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have detected a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a herd of dairy cattle in Sioux County, Iowa.
Additionally, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is making several requests of USDA to aid affected dairy and poultry farmers and to assist in disease research and response. The Department is also announcing additional response measures to combat the threat of HPAI to poultry and dairy within Iowa.
“Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza continues to pose a significant threat to our livestock and the livelihoods of the farmers that care for them. To better prepare and respond to this challenge, the Department is taking additional response measures and is making additional resource requests of USDA in order to support this ongoing and collaborative effort,” said Secretary Naig. “Our team remains in daily communication with USDA, other states, farm organizations and industry stakeholders and we will be continually evaluating our response steps as new information arises. This is going to take the entire agricultural community working together because we all have a stake in protecting the herds and flocks of Iowa.”
Request for Additional USDA Resources
Secretary Naig is requesting resources from USDA that will support impacted poultry and dairy farmers as well as enhance state response efforts. The Secretary’s request includes the following:
For farmers:
• Provide compensation for cull dairy cattle at fair market value.
• Provide compensation for lost milk production at a minimum of 90 percent of fair market value.
• Revise poultry indemnity tables to better reflect the fair market value of the impacted birds and/or eggs.
• Present a streamlined and timely process for farmers to be compensated for lost production and to receive indemnity.
For state response efforts:
• Authorize additional epidemiological strike teams to assist with both poultry and dairy in Iowa.
• Provide additional USDA Wildlife Services personnel to assist in the surveying of disease in wildlife around Iowa poultry and dairy facilities.
• Accelerate funding for research to strengthen and enhance producer mitigation strategies.
Additional State Response Measures
The Department is updating existing testing protocols to include testing of dairy farms around infected poultry sites. This is a longstanding protocol already in place for poultry. This requirement will provide a better understanding of the possible spread of the virus and allow the Department to enhance its response capabilities.
Because there is no concern about the safety of pasteurized milk or dairy products, no restrictions on the shipment of milk are planned. No intrastate movement restrictions are being placed on dairy cattle at this time. USDA’s federal order regulating the interstate movement of lactating dairy cattle remains in effect.
The Department continues to strongly recommend dairy farmers and poultry producers incorporate comprehensive biosecurity protocols on their farms.
Exhibitions
With the fair and exhibition season quickly approaching, the Department is considering additional requirements for exhibition participants.
About HPAI
HPAI is a viral disease that affects both wild and domestic bird populations as well as lactating dairy cattle. HPAI can travel in wild birds without those birds appearing sick, but is often fatal to domestic bird populations, including chickens and turkeys. With supportive care, dairy cattle recover with little to no mortality associated with the disease.
Heightened Biosecurity
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is strongly encouraging Iowa poultry producers and dairy farmers to bolster their biosecurity practices and protocols to protect their flocks and herds. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has biosecurity recommendations for dairy herds to utilize. In addition, the Department has numerous other biosecurity resources for poultry producers and livestock farms to reference on its website.
Farmers or farm workers who interact regularly with both dairy and poultry or who interact frequently with other farm workers in poultry or dairy, should take extra precautions to limit possible transmissions.
Suspected Cases in Dairy
If dairy producers suspect cases of HPAI, they should contact their herd veterinarian immediately. Possible cases must also be reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5305.
Clinical signs of HPAI in dairy may include:
• Decrease in food consumption with a simultaneous decrease in rumination
• Clear nasal discharge
• Drop in milk production
• Tacky or loose feces
• Lethargy
• Dehydration
• Fever
• Thicker, concentrated, colostrum-like milk
Suspected Cases in Poultry
If poultry producers or those with backyard birds suspect signs of HPAI, they should contact their veterinarian immediately. Possible cases must also be reported to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship at (515) 281-5305.
Clinical signs of HPAI in birds may include:
• Sudden increase in bird deaths without any clinical signs
• Lethargy and/or lack of energy and appetite
• Decrease in egg production
• Soft, thin-shelled and/or misshapen eggs
• Swelling of the head, eyelids, comb, wattles, and hocks
• Purple/blue discoloration of the wattles, comb, and legs
• Difficulty breathing
• Coughing, sneezing, and/or nasal discharge (runny nose)
• Stumbling and/or falling down
• Diarrhea
Food Safety
It remains safe to enjoy poultry products. As a reminder, consumers should always properly handle and cook eggs and poultry products, including cooking to an internal temperature of 165˚F. It is a longstanding practice that only milk from healthy animals may enter the food supply. There is no concern about the safety of pasteurized milk or dairy products. Pasteurization has continually proven to successfully inactivate bacteria and viruses, like influenza, in milk.
Public Health
Though recent cases of HPAI were confirmed in dairy workers in Texas and Michigan, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continues to believe the threat to the general public remains low. Any questions related to public health should be directed to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services at alex.murphy@hhs.iowa.gov. There are no known human cases in Iowa.
List of Confirmed Cases
As HPAI detections are confirmed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, those cases are added to tracking websites located on the USDA APHIS website.