Available Resources Regarding H5N1

State and federal resources are linked below, including an interactive map to view how many confirmed cases of H5N1 in the U.S. given various timeframes.

It is important for livestock owners to be vigilant in their biosecurity protocols.

Producers should continue to enhance their biosecurity efforts and monitor and control disease in their herds and flocks. To report herds with unexplained symptoms, veterinarians should contact DATCP at (608) 224-4872 (business hours) or (800) 943-0003 (after hours and weekends).

Risk of HPAI to Exposed Dairy Workers

In coordination with state health departments in Michigan and Colorado, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tested blood from people who were exposed to dairy cows with H5N1 bird flu infection, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

Eight of the 115 people tested (7% of participants) showed evidence of recent H5N1 virus infection. Only four of those eight remembered feeling sick or had symptoms.

All eight of the workers reported cleaning the milking parlor as a regular task. Only one individual said they worked with cows known to be infected with H5N1. None of the workers with signs of infection reported using the recommended personal protective equipment (PPE), and the use of recommended PPE was low among all 115 workers tested.

The blood tests reveal H5N1 was present in more individuals than what was known, as previously only two dairy workers in Michigan and one in Colorado had been confirmed through other detection methods.

Q3 Wins for Pork Industry

In the third edition of the State of the Pork Industry Report, Farm Journal’s PORK editor Jennifer Shike joins Cara Haden, veterinarian with Pipestone; Randy Kuker, director of swine production for The Equity; Adam Annegers, sow production manager at JBS; and Brad Eckberg, product subject matter expert with MetaFarms, to compare Q3 2024 sow and grow-finish data (obtained by MetaFarms from July 1 to Sept. 30) to what the experts are seeing in the barns.

Watch or listen to their entire discussion on YouTube. These experts share takeaways from Q3 and how understanding percentiles can help your farm be more profitable now and in the future.

"There is a lot of positivity in the pork industry right now that can be attributed to higher farrowing rates this year, as well as higher born alive and lower stillborn numbers,” Eckberg says. “We saw a decrease in sow mortality by 1.2% from the from the same time last year.”

This positive reduction in sow mortality is significant for the industry, that will likely see the first yearly decline in almost six years of collecting sow mortality data, Eckberg adds. He believes extra focus on animal husbandry and animal welfare has helped the industry make improvements.

Meanwhile, Haden points out the decrease in porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is contributing to the reduction in sow mortality, too. From 2011-2012, the PRRS incidence rate was 40%. In 2023-2024, the PRRS incidence rate was less than 20%.

Navigating HPAI as a Dairy Farmer

The first person who will notice illness in the herd is the one who works hands-on with the cows. It’s a cow that just looks off, a drop in production or changes in cow activity and behavior that triggers a call to the vet, monitoring or treating. Treatment is on a case-by-case basis, depending on which cow it is and what’s going on.

But for matters of trade and human health, the health of the entire U.S. herd must be addressed systematically. Rosemary B. Sifford, DVM; Deputy Administrator; USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says disease monitoring actually looks very similar on the state and national level. “Except, of course, we’re looking across all the herds. In some cases, we do have surveillance programs in place for diseases that we that we know are of concern for us.”

She adds, “Our trade partners are very interested in what controls we put in place and how we eradicate diseases, so we share that information, and that helps to build their confidence, and allows us to trade, even sometimes in the face of an outbreak.”

Equity Cooperative Livestock Sales Association

WLIC | Toll-Free: 88Like8-808-1910 | Fax: 608-848-4702 | jlegge@wiid.org | www.wiid.org