Colorado Orders Dairy Farms to Conduct Weekly Milk Testing for Bird Flu

Colorado issued a mandatory order on July 22 requiring all commercial cow dairies in the state to conduct weekly testing of milk samples for the highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as bird flu. The state’s Department of Agriculture said the measure was intended to help authorities identify infected dairies and prevent further spread of avian influenza in Colorado. State veterinarian Dr. Maggie Baldwin said the state has “not been able to curb the spread of disease” after nearly three months of efforts to navigate the avian influenza outbreak in dairy operations. “We have seen devastating impacts of this disease not only to our dairy industry, but our poultry industry as well,” Dr. Baldwin said in a statement....