On April 24, 2024, the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) issued a federal order that will require premovement testing for lactating dairy cattle crossing state lines beginning Monday, April 29, 2024. This was followed by a FAQ document about the order on April 25, 2024.
Both documents refer to an “APHIS interstate movement guidance which will be published in the coming days.” The guidance document is greatly anticipated as it will answer key questions for veterinarians, farmers, and state health officials who need to comply with the guidance in only a few more days on Monday, April 29, 2024.
Important to note, the order officially makes positive results for Influenza A PCR or serological testing reportable to USDA APHIS.
The USDA cited risks to both the dairy and poultry industries as reasons for issuing the order. USDA stated that, “researchers have determined that this virus has continued to spread between cows in affected herd and spread between herds as cattle are moved.” Additionally, they noted, “the virus first detected in cattle has recently been found in poultry indicating that affected dairy herds may pose a risk to poultry farms.”
At this time, the USDA is defining lactating cattle for premovement testing as, “a cow that is producing milk, regardless of the volume of milk she is producing. This does not include dairy calves, pregnant heifers, or dairy cows that are ‘dry’ or no longer producing milk.”
USDA is currently working on concurrent guidance for cull cows that are moving directly to slaughter as the movement of these animals promptly is often an animal welfare issue.
At this time, samples must be submitted by a veterinarian to a National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) lab. USDA is reporting that initial results from NAHLN labs typically take 1-3 days to return, and non-negative samples are sent to USDA APHIS for confirmatory testing which takes an additional 1-2 days. The tests themselves will be paid for by USDA APHIS, but additional costs such as veterinary service will not be covered at this time.
More direction about what will happen if an animal tests positive will be coming in the APHIS interstate movement guidance. The FAQ document comments that a state animal health official will not issue a certificate of veterinary inspection (CVI) for animals testing positive for H5N1, and animals cannot move interstate until they have completed the 30-day waiting period and have retested negative. There is no information at this time about whether or not a premise will be subject to a stoppage of movement following a positive test, but that information will likely be in the guidance document.
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