Shiawassee Dairy Cattle Herd Latest to Have Avian Influenza

Another case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, has been found in a dairy herd in Shiawassee County.

It’s the 29th dairy herd in Michigan to have been affected by the bird flu after first being reported in both Gratiot and Isabella counites on May 10. The new announcement came Monday after testing by the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, with samples sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory for additional confirmatory testing.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) has stressed the importance of enhanced biosecurity measures, creating an order for all dairy operations in Michigan to adopt those measures found in a “Determination of Extraordinary Emergency HPAI Risk Reduction and Response” order issued May 1. MDARD issued additional guidelines the following week to help producers enact the requirements.

Further steps to protect livestock and prevent the spread of the bird flu can be found at michigan.gov/mdard.