The testing protocol will likely begin sometime this month and comes in response to a recent order from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Officials will collect samples from storage tanks into which farmers send their raw milk before it is processed. Farmers and dairy processors will also be required to provide samples to the government upon request.
The new testing protocol will involve weekly or monthly sample collection from the nation’s milk supply.
Samples collected in Vermont will be sent to Cornell University, which will notify the state of any positive results. The state will then figure out which farms produced the infected milk, according to Scott Waterman, a spokesperson for the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.
The agency expects to hire some additional staff to carry out the new testing regimen, Waterman said. It is also “working diligently” to keep the dairy industry in the loop. Vermont has roughly 500 dairy farms, which, as of 2022, were home to about 117,500 cows. “The end result will hopefully be a program that takes care of the needs of our producers and processors, and also what USDA is looking for,” Waterman said.
The goal is to better detect and limit outbreaks of H5N1 so that the disease can be eradicated from dairy herds.
“This will give farmers and farmworkers better confidence in the safety of their animals and ability to protect themselves, and it will put us on a path to quickly controlling and stopping the virus’ spread nationwide,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release last week.
First confirmed in dairy cows in March, H5N1 has been detected in more than 700 herds across 15 states, none of which are in the Northeast. Until now, though, testing has been limited to sick cows or lactating cows that are moving across state lines. Experts warn that the virus has almost certainly spread beyond what’s currently known.
At least 58 people, mostly farmworkers, have been infected. The virus has not yet proven itself capable of easily spreading between people, but every untreated infection increases the risk.
Health officials warn against drinking raw milk but say people can safely consume pasteurized milk and cooked beef.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
