The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has launched a Voluntary H5N1 Dairy Herd Status Pilot Program, which provides alternative testing and movement options to the federal order issued on April 25 to increase USDA’s monitoring capabilities to mitigate the spread of H5N1.
The Voluntary H5N1 Dairy Herd Status Pilot Program aims to create additional testing options for producers with herds that have tested negative for three consecutive weeks, further reduce H5N1 virus dissemination, provide for further opportunities to test herds that are not known to be affected with H5N1, increase surveillance and expand knowledge of the disease, and support an overall national program to reduce the risk of H5N1 in dairy herds. Read more