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It Begins: California Declares Emergency Over Rise In Bird Flu Cases, USDA Announces New Testing For Raw Milk Amidst Imminent Pandemic Fears

Source: Wine Press


After months of warnings by media and medical officials that bird flu was a growing threat that could turn into another pandemic scenario reminiscent of the days of the Covid-era, the federal government has mandated new testing protocols for raw dairy products as it is believed these foods could be harbingers for the disease, while California has become the first U.S. state to declare bird flu a health emergency.


In a press release published yesterday, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared an official state of emergency that “will provide state and local agencies with additional flexibility around staffing, contracting, and other rules to support California’s evolving response,” the statement reads.


Newsom said in a statement: “This proclamation is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to respond quickly to this outbreak,” he said. “Building on California’s testing and monitoring system — the largest in the nation — we are committed to further protecting public health, supporting our agriculture industry, and ensuring that Californians have access to accurate, up-to-date information. While the risk to the public remains low, we will continue to take all necessary steps to prevent the spread of this virus.”


This added action, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other state departments, comes after a new wave of purported cases of bird flu “detected in dairy cows on farms in Southern California, signaling the need to further expand monitoring and build on the coordinated statewide approach to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus,” the presser noted.


The Los Angeles Department of Public Health prescribes in their recommendations to “not consume raw milk, raw cheese and undercooked meat products, and do not feed these products to your pets;” “Do not feed raw milk or raw milk products to pets;” and “get a seasonal flu vaccine.”


In the lead-up to this emergency declaration, several weeks prior a raw dairy farm, Raw Farm, in Fresno voluntarily recalled their raw milk after H5N1 was reportedly found in some tested samples by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. A week later, that same farm detected bird flu in another batch of raw dairy. “We’re not making a big deal about it, because it’s not a big deal,” Kaleigh Stanziani, Raw Farm’s vice president of marketing, said in a short YouTube video.


On December 6th, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the start of its National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS).


The press release said at the time: “Today, USDA is issuing a new Federal Order, as well as accompanying guidance, requiring that raw (unpasteurized) milk samples nationwide be collected and shared with USDA for testing. This new guidance from USDA, which was developed with significant input from state, veterinary and public health stakeholders, will facilitate comprehensive H5N1 surveillance of the nation’s milk supply and dairy herds.”

Health and Human Secretary (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra commeneted: “Our primary responsibility at HHS is to protect public health and the safety of the food supply, and we continue to work closely with USDA and all stakeholders on continued testing for H5N1 in milk being sent for pasteurization and dairy samples from across the country to ensure the safety of the commercial pasteurized milk supply. We will continue this work with USDA for as long and as far as necessary.”


USDA explains how NMTS works:

APHIS will place that state into one of five stages based on the HPAI H5N1 virus prevalence in that state. As states move to another stage, we will have a stronger picture of our progress towards eliminating HPAI H5N1 at state, regional and national levels. These stages include:


Stage 1: Standing Up Mandatory USDA National Plant Silo Monitoring

USDA will immediately begin nationwide testing of milk silos at dairy processing facilities. This national sample will allow USDA to identify where the disease is present, monitor trends, and help states identify potentially affected herds.


Stage 2: Determining a State’s H5N1 Dairy Cattle Status

Building on the results of silo monitoring, in collaboration with states, USDA will also stand up bulk tank sampling programs that will enable us to identify herds in the state that are affected with H5N1.


Stage 3: Detecting and Responding to the Virus in Affected States

For states with H5N1 detections, APHIS will work quickly to identify specific cases and implement rapid response measures, including enhanced biosecurity using USDA’s existing incentives programs, movement controls and contact tracing.


Stage 4: Demonstrating Ongoing Absence of H5 in Dairy Cattle in Unaffected States

Once all dairy herds in a given state are considered to be unaffected, APHIS will continue regular sampling of farms’ bulk tanks to ensure the disease does not re-emerge. Bulk tank sampling frequency will progressively decline as the state demonstrates continual silo negativity (e.g., weekly, monthly, quarterly if continually negative). If a state becomes affected, USDA will re-engage detection and response activities, and the state will return to Stage 3.


Stage 5: Demonstrating Freedom from H5 in U.S. Dairy Cattle

After all states move through Stage Four, APHIS will work with the states to begin periodic sampling and testing to illustrate long-term absence from the national herd.


Initially, six states – California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon, and Pennsylvania – are on board with the milk testing program. These states have reportedly been affected the most by outbreaks of bird flu on farms. As of November 17th, seven more states have signed-on for the program: Indiana, Maryland, Montana, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and Washington.


Western media for the majority of this year has railed hard against raw milk, claiming that it has no real health advantages above that of conventional dairy, but elevates the risk of disease and sickness, and is the main cause behind the spread of bird flu. Media and medical officials have urged citizens to only consume pasteurized dairy.

As it was last year, egg prices have begun to rise once again and some places have reportedly experienced some shortages, namely in the Bay Area in California, KRON 4 reported last week.


That same station also reported last week that a small child fell ill with bird flu after consuming raw milk.

Many times this year The WinePress has highlighted scores of articles that have fearmongered that bird flu would become a pandemic, spread to humans and pets, and cause even greater destruction on farms. Some of the more recent headlines include:

  • “America’s Bird-Flu Luck Has Officially Run Out” – (The Atlantic)

  • “Flu virus can remain infectious in refrigerated raw milk, new study finds” – (Scripp News)

  • “CDC reports first severe human case of bird flu in U.S.” – (Axios)

  • “Could bird flu in US livestock, poultry pose risk to humans?” – (Deutsche Welle)

  • “Bird flu causes deaths of cats and zoo animals as virus spreads in US” – (Fox News)

  • “Mutant bird flu will spark ‘next pandemic’ and ‘will start in US’ claim experts” – (Irish Star)

  • “Despite warnings from bird flu experts, it’s business as usual in California dairy country” – (LA Times)

  • “With bird flu cases on the rise, staff at California lab say they are overworked and burned out” – (LA Times)

  • “If raw milk is at risk for bird flu, what about raw milk cheese?” – (CNN)

  • “It’s Time to End the Denial About Bird Flu” – (TIME)

  • “Single mutation of bird flu virus could allow it to spread among people, research says” – (Scripp News)

  • “Bird flu in California child related to virus in dairy cows, CDC says” – (The Washington Post)

  • “Study shows horses have been infected with avian flu in Asia and that infections have been occurring unnoticed” – (Medical Xpress)

  • “Is It Safe to Eat Eggs, Chicken or Dairy During the Bird Flu Outbreak?” – (Eating Well)

  • “‘Knocking on our door’: Experts warn of bird flu’s pandemic threat” – (ETX Daily Up)

  • “Opinion: Bird flu is coming for humans. We can either get ready or court disaster” – (LA Times)

  • “Doctors worldwide closely monitoring potential changes in bird flu virus” – (Scripp News)

Dr. Anthony Fauci recently said that he believes bird flu has the potential to be the next great pandemic. For the last several years, former CDC Director Robert Redfield has repeatedly said that bird flu will be the “next pandemic,” and with it a mortality rate of 25-50%.



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