Officials say milk in Georgia is safe after warning from USDA about avian flu in Texas cows

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed Monday that some dairy cattle in the Texas panhandle region tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

The USDA said samples came from dairy cattle herds in Texas, Kansas and New Mexico.

“As of Monday, March 25, unpasteurized, clinical samples of milk from sick cattle collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, as well as an oropharyngeal swab from another dairy in Texas, have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza,” according to the USDA.

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As a result, Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper released a statement to reassure Georgians and promised heightened vigilance in the state.

He said no cattle in Georgia had been impacted by HPAI.

“Georgians can and should feel confident that the milk products in their local grocery store are safe and wholesome, and this situation does not represent a threat to public health at present. Our team at the Department is in constant communication with USDA, FDA, the Georgia Department of Public Health, the Georgia Milk Producers Association, the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association, and the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association to reinforce and enhance biosecurity measures and provide updates to key stakeholders in our state,” Harper said in a statement.

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The USDA is the lead agency on the HPAI investigation.

In their announcement on the detection of HPAI, the USDA said “At this stage, there is no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health. Dairies are required to send only milk from healthy animals into processing for human consumption.”

For now, the situation has been described as rapidly evolving by the USDA.

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