The Kansas Department of Agriculture has been working with the Kansas dairy industry to respond to the nationwide concerns of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dairy cattle.
The agency has also been closely following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s testing of the commercial milk supply, which on Friday confirmed the effectiveness of the pasteurization process. News Radio KMAN’s Peter Rice reports…
On Friday, the FDA reaffirmed its confidence that the commercial milk supply is safe. The National Commercial Milk Sampling Study conducted over the last few weeks confirmed that pasteurization is effective in activating HPAI in milk. In early April there were two herds in Kansas that reported positive tests. Data appears to indicate that the virus is no longer present after 21 to 30 days, which is already past for the positive Kansas herds. In line with long standing policy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend consuming unpasteurized or raw milk. Farmers and ranchers in Kansas have been advised to practice good biosecurity measures to protect susceptible animals from being exposed. This includes limiting movement of vehicles and visitors on and off of premises, separating domestic and wild animals as much as possible and minimizing the movement of their cattle.
