Federal authorities pledged Friday to reimburse farmers for some of the costs associated with keeping their herds safe from an outbreak of the bird flu virus that is spreading rapidly among dairy cows.
The funding includes up to $28,000 over the next 120 days to help individual farms test livestock and bolster biosecurity efforts to further limit the spread of the H5N1 virus between herds.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has allocated $98 million in existing funds to support actions by states with affected herds that restrict interstate movement of livestock, and health officials announced $101 million for expanded surveillance, testing, treatments and vaccines for the virus.
Officials have said so far the virus has been found in 42 herds across nine states, with one case confirmed in a human.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said federal officials want to give states an incentive to act.
“We don’t necessarily have jurisdiction today over what happens within the state. States are now considering and thinking about the possibility of preventing the movement of sick cows or the movement of cows without negative tests. We obviously encourage and support that,” Vilsack told reporters.
The Department of Agriculture said it will also compensate dairy farmers for lost milk production from infected cows.
“Dairy cows that have H5N1 generally recover well and there is little mortality associated with this disease. It drastically limits milk production, which can cause economic losses to producers with affected facilities,” said Vilsack.
Additionally, dairy farmers and farmworkers who choose to participate in a workplace study conducted by the USDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would be compensated. But participation is voluntary.
Farmers have been reluctant to allow federal health officials onto their land to test potentially infected cattle, due to uncertainty about how their businesses would be affected. Agricultural workers have also been reluctant to participate in screening due to potential immigration fears.
“In terms of farmworkers, this is really a voluntary circumstance,” Vilsack said. “I’m sure if they’re willing to work with the CDC, I’m sure the CDC would be happy to oblige.”
Another of the incentives offered on Friday was reimbursement for veterinary expenses to help treat and collect samples from affected cattle that tested positive for the virus. The USDA said it would provide up to $10,000 per farm, but that money can only be allocated once there is a positive test.
“We need to invest resources in proactive testing to identify transmission as quickly as possible, and not just wait to find infected farms,” Michael Mina, eMed’s chief scientific officer and clinical trials expert, told The Hill.
Friday’s announcements come amid calls from infectious disease and public health experts for a clearer picture of how the virus is spreading. They expressed concern that agencies are not testing enough and that farm workers are at risk whenever they are exposed to potentially infected cattle.
“We recognize that from a worker safety perspective, there may be risks even before the herd is confirmed positive,” CDC Deputy Director Nirav Shah told reporters on Friday.
Still, authorities have emphasized that the virus poses a low risk to the general public and that the milk supply is safe.
Since the USDA instituted an order in late April requiring negative tests before lactating cattle can cross state lines, “approximately 80” cows have been tested, Vilsack said, but he did not know the number of positive results.
“It’s still in the same nine states and that’s the most positive thing about where we are,” he told reporters.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
