Latest Livestock diseases News

USDA orders nationwide testing of milk for bird flu to halt the virus

Dec. 06, 2024 17:25 PM EST

The U.S. government on Friday ordered testing of the nation's milk supply for bird flu to better monitor the spread of the virus in dairy cows. Raw or unpasteurized milk from dairy farms and processors nationwide must be tested on request starting Dec. 16, the Agriculture Department...

Bird flu virus was found in raw milk. What to know about the risks

Nov. 26, 2024 16:06 PM EST

President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for the nation's top health job, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has vowed to allow wider distribution of raw milk across America. But the detection of bird flu virus in unpasteurized milk sold in California stores underscores what health experts say are the known and...

Bird flu jumped from cows to people. Now advocates want more farmworkers tested

Oct. 30, 2024 16:01 PM EDT

In the heart of California’s dairy country, workers kitted in respirators, face shields and gloves are grappling with one of the largest bird flu outbreaks in history. California has reported 16 human cases of bird flu this month, and worker advocates say the state isn’t doing enough to protect...

Swine fever sweeps Italy's north, threatening production of prized prosciutto and livelihoods

Oct. 02, 2024 07:00 AM EDT

CORTELEONA E GENZONE, Italy (AP) — One of Giovanni Airoli’s sows tested positive for African swine fever in late August. Within a week, all 6,200 sows, piglets and fattening pigs on his farm south of Milan were slaughtered under strict protocols to halt the disease threatening Italy’s 20...