Massachusetts wraps up avian flu testing of all licensed dairy farms

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) said yesterday that it, along with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), has completed H5N1 avian flu testing of all 95 licensed dairy farms in the state, with no positive samples found.

In a statement, MDAR said it is the only state in the nation to test all dairy herds. 

Massachusetts officials said they decided to test all herds to protect public health and to demonstrate the safety of the food supply from the state’s farms. MDAR inspectors visited the dairies in August to collect samples from bulk-milk tanks. The DPH worked with the Broad Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University to test samples at no cost to farmers.

A few states, including Colorado and California, have done bulk-milk tank testing as part of enhanced surveillance in outbreak settings.