Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig said U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists have collected data from Iowa and are trying to figure out how bird flu spread to dairy cows and other animals.
“I requested an epidemiological response team from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and I’m grateful that they sent that team,” Naig says. “…(They) went farm by farm… and really tried to figure out how high the disease was spreading in a herd or what pathways it was using to move from the farm or into the farm.”
No other state tests dairy farms within 12 miles of a flock of poultry that must be euthanized after the birds are found to have avian influenza. Naig says some wild animals in those zones are also tested for avian influenza.
“I think when we get there in a few weeks or even months, we will actually have concrete strategies that farmers can use to protect their farms,” says Naig. “But without testing, this work is not possible.”
It’s been a few weeks since an Iowa farm confirmed bird flu in cattle or poultry. Since March, six farmworkers in Texas, Michigan and Colorado have tested positive for bird flu. Employees at Iowa farms where the virus was confirmed in birds or cattle have been tested, but there have been no human cases of bird flu in Iowa.
“By the way, there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, which is very good news for all of us,” says Naig. “And that’s why it’s important that we treat these things as animal health problems and try to get them under control on the farm so they don’t become human health or food safety problems.”
Naig made his comments this weekend during an appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS.
