Professor Phillip Jardon of Iowa State University’s Veterinary Extension said while the disease is highly pathogenic for poultry, it does not seem to be highly pathogenic in dairy cows, so far.

It certainly makes them sick for a few days and they go down in production, but it doesn’t, doesn’t kill them, and they seem to recover fairly, fairly well from it,” Jardon said.

Jardon said Iowa State University Pathologist Drew Magstadt suggested testing the milk for bird flu, which showed the disease being shed in high amounts through the milk.

Although there is evidence of cow-to-cow transmission, it still doesn’t explain all the ways the disease has been spreading.

“We should be worried, but not panicked,” said Jardon. “Then I think there’s also some evidence that this might be spreading from cows to some of the birds, whether it’s because of the mutation or whether it’s because of, just proximity. So I think we need to be careful of that, too. And try our best to keep it from coming into Iowa.”

The USDA and the Iowa Department of Agriculture recommend minimizing the movement of cattle with evidence that the virus has spread between herds. They also suggest minimizing access of wildlife, especially migratory wildfowl and other birds, to cattle and feed.

USDA officials said they do not believe that the disease will impact the price of dairy or its availability.

“Consumers can feel confident that pasteurized milk and dairy products and properly prepared poultry continue to be safe to enjoy,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

Dairy farmers, poultry producers and veterinarians seeing unusual or suspicious illnesses are asked to report these instances to the Department of Agriculture.

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