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The U.S. government has announced new incentives for farms to test and prevent H5N1 avian influenza in dairy cows.
CNN
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday a new plan to pay dairy farmers and farm workers to take steps to prevent the spread of H5N1 avian influenza.
Over the next four months, the government will pay up to $28,000 per farm to support concrete measures to prevent the spread of H5N1 avian influenza in dairy cows. Approximately $98 million will be raised for the program by USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The USDA first confirmed avian influenza in cattle in late March. Since then, more than 40 herds in nine states have tested positive.
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Health officials say the risk to humans is currently low because the virus does not spread efficiently from person to person. But scientists say it is dangerous for the virus to spread to livestock such as cattle because of its proximity to humans and the potential for it to evolve and adapt to become a fully human pathogen. If that happens, researchers say it could spark a new pandemic.
“It's no exaggeration to say that USDA's No. 1 priority, given our mission, is to contain this as an animal health event,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a call with reporters Friday. I think so,” he said.
“Ultimately, we hope to eliminate the virus from the industry and, over time, develop a vaccine to prevent recurrence of H5N1 infections in cattle.”
The USDA acknowledged that some dairy producers are wary of government access to their farms to inspect livestock. Symptomatic farmworkers are also reported to be reluctant to get tested for H5N1 influenza because they receive little compensation if they need to miss work due to illness.
As part of the plan announced Friday, the USDA will provide financial assistance of up to $2,000 per month per affected farm to producers who provide personal protective equipment to workers or help launder uniforms. We plan to provide it. Financial support will also be available through the Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to farmers who allow their workers to participate in research.
The USDA said workers who participated in the CDC study will also be compensated for their time.
Additional payments of up to $1,500 per farm will be available to support the development of a biosecurity plan. The USDA will provide dairy farms $100 to purchase equipment called in-line samplers to test milk as it travels between cows and holding tanks.
Farms that heat-treat waste milk before discarding it will receive an additional $2,000.
USDA will also cover up to $10,000 in veterinary costs for farms where cattle test positive for H5N1, as well as the cost of transporting samples to laboratories in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network.
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The government says it will also compensate farmers for the loss of milk production if their cows fall ill.
In addition, HHS plans to transfer an additional $101 million to the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fund H5N1 response efforts.
“The CDC will use 9,300 We have identified universal use kits,” said Department of Health Secretary Xavier Becerra.
An additional $8 million will be given to the FDA to support its ability to conduct oversight at various points in the milk production system, Becerra said.
This is breaking news and will be updated.
