Since March 29, Michigan has had 24 dairy operations test positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The state’s dairy farmers are facing unprecedented challenges, says Michigan Department of Agriculture Director Tim Boring, who recently announced emergency response funding to help advance research on the disease and aid farms in recovery.

In exchange for working with federal and state government agencies to investigate how the virus infected their operations, the state is offering up to 20 HPAI-infected farms $28,000 each for complete epidemiological investigations and dairy herd real-time longitudinal studies.

This assistance is in addition to funding already available from USDA to HPAI-affected dairy farms in Michigan.

With a focus on mitigating the spread of HPAI, Michigan’s response has been a one-health approach, working with federal, state and local partners to address both animal and public health concerns rapidly, Boring says.

Three USDA emergency management teams have been on the ground assisting the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) in day-to-day responses at all affected poultry facilities statewide. An epidemiological team from USDA is also deployed to further assist in tracing and testing within dairy herds to be able to provide real-time information.

“Our HPAI-impacted farms have been incredibly cooperative in Michigan’s one-health approach to combat this disease,” Boring says.

Here’s the history in Michigan:

Unlike poultry that succumb to the disease rather quickly and must be depopulated once an operation has had even one animal test positive, it is almost never fatal in dairy cows, who may exhibit symptoms of a fever, stiff manure, abnormal milk and a drop in production, according to MDARD.

HPAI-positive animals are isolated in sick pens, potentially treated with antibiotics and fluids, while their milk is diverted from the supply chain.

However, as the virus bounces back and forth between species (there are close to 30 animals species confirmed), there is some concern mutations could make it transmittable between humans (currently not) and potentially cause a pandemic.

Michigan has had two dairy farmworkers recovering from the virus, and the U.S. has four total. At this time, the CDC considers the risk of HPAI to the general public to be low. HPAI is zoonotic, meaning it can spread from animals to humans, but it doesn’t easily infect humans and doesn’t currently spread easily between people, CDC reports.

USDA and MDARD officials say there is no concern with the safety of the commercial milk supply because products are pasteurized before entering the market, in activating bacteria and viruses.

On May 1, Boring signed an “Determination of Extraordinary Emergency” to further protect Michigan’s poultry and livestock industries from the ongoing threat of HPAI. Michigan’s order enhances USDA’s federal order, which was issued April 24.

To sign up for HPAI alerts, go to michigan.gov/birdflu or to find additional information on MDARD’s ongoing response efforts.

Information on protecting home flocks

New information, “Keeping You and Your Flock Healthy – Information on Avian Influenza” has been released by Michigan State University Extension with specific practices backyard poultry owners and other poultry enthusiasts can implement to help reduce the risk of disease transmission to their home flocks.

This information highlights what HPAI is and how it spreads, symptoms for infected birds and humans, simple methods farmers can use to reduce the risk of disease in their flock, and what to do if you suspect that birds are infected with HPAI.