The Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has detected cases of highly pathogenic avian flu (HPAI) in dairy herds out of Ionia, Clinton, and Gratiot counties, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Tim Boring announced Monday.
In response, MDARD is working with the herds’ veterinarian to monitor the health of the animals and conduct trace investigations, officials said.
These detections come days after Herbuck’s Poultry Ranch laid off 400 employees from two locations in Lake Odessa and one in Saranac due to hen populations being affected by avian flu.
Michigan is among eight other states that have confirmed cases of avian flu.
Under the Determination of Extraordinary Emergency HPAI Risk Reduction and Response Order that Boring issued on May 1, Michigan dairy operations are required to adopt enhanced biosecurity measures to collectively reduce the risk of introducing the virus to farms, officials said.
Additional guidance was issued on May 3 and went into effect May 8.
Officials shared some steps that they say are fundamental in protecting the health and vitality of the state’s dairy cattle:
- Delay or stop incoming or returning animals from herds with unknown or suspect health status.
- Isolate all animals that are new or returning to your farm.
- Monitor the health of your animals daily.
- Contact your veterinarian if there are ever any animal health-related concerns or if you would like to develop a secure food supply plan.
- Sick animals should have dedicated equipment and be cared for after tending to healthy animals first.
- Clothing, footwear, and equipment worn/used around sick animals should not be worn/used around other animals until they are cleaned and disinfected. Use an EPA-registered disinfectant effective against avian influenza.
- Do not share tools, equipment, trailers, etc. with other farms.
- Clean and disinfect the interiors of trailers used to haul animals from other operations.
- Limit non-essential visitors to your farm.
- If individuals have recently been on a poultry farm, they should not visit a dairy operation, and vice versa.
- Require or provide clean clothing and footwear to those entering your farm.
- Use hand-washing stations and provide gloves to those working on your farm.
More resources about avian flu can be found here while more information about detections in cattle can be found here.
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