Avian influenza hasn’t been detected in dairy cows in New England like elsewhere in the country, but if it is, federal officials say human activity is more likely to be responsible for it spreading than wild birds.
Three months after it was found in U.S. dairy cattle, Maine’s industry remains vigilant and concerned but not disrupted, according to Sarah Littlefield, executive director of the Maine Dairy Promotion Board. The 145 farms represented by her group have not seen notable changes in demand, supply or milk pricing this year, she said.
Known as the highly pathogenic avian influenza, the virus is often fatal to birds. Cows infected with it have lower appetites, drops in milk production and discolored milk, but have typically recovered. Particles have been found in milk, though officials say the commercial milk supply is safe, and risk to people is considered low right now.
On both the federal and state level, the focus is increasingly on biosecurity, or practices designed to reduce the spread of disease from farm to farm.
A report on the disease’s spread in birds and cattle released earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found the influenza mostly moved with people, equipment and animals. That’s unlike the outbreaks in 2022, when wild birds were believed to play a part in the spread through backyard poultry.
Maine farm visitors may be familiar with widespread biosecurity practices like washing their shoes when they arrive and sanitizing shared equipment. If risk became higher, that might expand to washing truck tires, for example.
New England is not generally at that risk level, but some farmers in the south and midwest are. The infection was found first in dairy cattle in Texas at the end of March after some of them had already been shipped to Michigan, where cases in 25 herds have now been confirmed.
People who work for or on multiple farms, the cars that take them there and the equipment they use were identified as risks in the report.
The dairy industry is “intensive, integrated and specialized,” the report noted, meaning opportunities for transfer are many: shared milk haulers, veterinarians, equipment and grain delivery.
That might pose less risk in Maine if disease arrived here because the state’s dairy farms are generally smaller, and less connected by agricultural infrastructure, than those in other regions, Littlefield said.
So far, farmers are increasingly using biosecurity measures and monitoring animals, according to Jim Britt, spokesperson for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.
Updates for dairy farmers are available through the state’s animal’s health division site.
