Dr. Mike Payne, Dairy Outreach Coordinator at WIFSS and Co-Director for Dairy Cattle Health, with the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program, (CDQAP), said in a recent February 26 Health column in STAT news that “Avian influenza, and specifically the current H5N1 strain, has become endemic, full stop.”  STAT reports that Payne hopes the $1 billion will also go to expanding research into how the virus moves between farms.
 
Payne feels strongly that, “We will not control the outbreak in poultry until we control it in cattle. This will require cattle vaccination.”
 
Click HERE to read the full story about the USDA’s aid in increasing biosecurity measures to prevent the spread from wild birds to domestic poultry operations. 
 
To stay current on Avian Flu Updates please see UC Davis Veterinary Medicine news updates.