HPAI update: NASDA Animal Agriculture Committee holds in-depth discussion on HPAI outbreak in dairy cattle 

During the 2024 National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Annual Meeting, held in Indianapolis on Sept. 22-25, NASDA committees had a chance to meet regarding their respective industry sectors.

The NASDA Animal Agriculture Committee meeting took place on Sept. 25, and the topic of conversation centered around the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dairy cattle across the nation. 

HPAI concerns

South Dakota State Veterinarian Dr. Beth Thompson was invited to speak at the committee meeting, providing those in attendance with some important information regarding HPAI. 

In order to talk about HPAI, Thompson noted it is essential to first understand what constitutes a foreign animal disease (FAD) and recognize, although HPAI is considered to be a FAD in poultry, it is not considered a FAD in dairy cattle.

This makes managing the HPAI outbreak in dairy cows a unique situation, since there is no other instance is U.S. history of a disease being considered a FAD in one species and not in another. 

“It has been a very unique situation in states experiencing this, because not every state is the same,” Thompson stated. “Their dairies are different. The number of vets available in the state is different. Labs may have different protocols or there may not even be a lab available.” 

With this, Thompson noted she personally believes the “missing piece” in obtaining continuity amongst states’ response to the disease is more assistance from the federal government. 

However, this sentiment raised concern among some committee members who pointed out more involvement from the federal government might not be favored by producers on the ground. 

Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller stated, “As most of you have probably heard it scares producers to death to think someone from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or U.S. Food and Drug Administration is going to be walking around on their facilities. Reinvolving state staff and veterinarians as those who are interacting with our producers is critical because producers trust them more and, in reality, they feel like there is someone there to help them rather than someone there looking for something to pin on them.” 

Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg inquired about enhanced biosecurity measures, asking, “Are you thinking about biosecurity in any new way? Should we be considering how this virus is moving given the novelty of it?”

Thompson noted the issue of biosecurity is something that has bothered her for a long time, especially because she has seen operations with nearly flawless biosecurity measures still contracting the disease. 

“It is an ongoing area we need to pay attention to, and I don’t know if there is a one-answer-fits-all approach when it comes to biosecurity,” she stated. 

Additionally, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and NASDA Animal Agriculture Committee Vice Chair Mike Naig asked Thompson what her expectations are for coming months.

“It is always interesting going into a migratory season because sometimes they surprise us and sometimes they don’t,” she said. “My automatic response is that I am concerned, but this is the position I hold.” 

She noted there is some apprehension circulating throughout the rest of the world as studies continue to make concerning findings of the disease in other mammalian species. 

“This virus hasn’t burned itself out, and it will continue whether or not we can keep it out of our poultry barns,” she said.

Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved HPAI vaccine field trials in U.S. dairies, Thompson noted this will not solve the issue.

“But it is a tool in the toolbox,” she said.

Secure food supply plans 

During the second half of the meeting, Moderators Naig and Charlie Hatcher, Tennessee commissioner of agriculture and NASDA Animal Agriculture Committee chair, invited three veterinarians to discuss secure food supply plans. 

First, Dr. Dannelle Bickett-Weddle, owner of the veterinary consultant company Preventalytics and chief executive officer of Veterinary Educational Services, LLC, explained the Secure Milk Supply (SMS) Plan. 

The SMS Plan is a 10-page document outlining opportunities for voluntary preparation efforts on dairy operations regarding a foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the U.S. so premises with cattle with no evidence of infection can still move raw milk to process, maintain business continuity and limit exposure of animals through enhanced biosecurity practices. 

Bickett-Weddle noted a technical committee is being assembled to look at the SMS Plan through a HPAI lens to figure out how the influenza outbreak fits into the plan.

University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine Avian Health Pomeroy Chair Dr. Carol Cardona discussed the Secure Poultry Supply Plan, which creates a harmonized approach between the Secure Egg Supply, Secure Turkey Supply, Secure Broiler Supply and Secure Upland Game Bird Supply plans into a harmonized approach to be used in the event of a HPAI outbreak. 

Cardona explained the plan includes a three-pronged approach including biosecurity plans outlined by the National Poultry Improvement Plan, risk-based permitting and permit guidance. 

Lastly, Dr. Jim Roth, the director of Iowa State University’s Center for Food Security and Public Health, reviewed the Secure Pork Supply (SPS) Plan. 

“The SPS Plan is parallel to the milk and poultry plans previously mentioned, and it is designed for three diseases – FMD, African swine fever and classical swine fever,” he said. “It has been out for a few years now, and the pork industry is working hard to implement it across all segments.” 

With concern raised earlier in the meeting about what would happen if HPAI were to infect pigs, Roth explained pigs are actually quite resistant to the H5N1 strain of the virus. In fact, research conducted in USDA labs in Ames, Iowa found intentionally infected pigs showed no clinical signs and only a small bit of virus replication.

However, Roth noted because influenza virus tends to mutate, many are concerned a new virus will come along and infect pigs.

“We have to be concerned it might mutate to pigs and spread from pig to pig,” he said. “If it does this, it will be a different virus, and we don’t know if it will spread back to poultry and/or people.” 

Although there are not a lot of clear-cut answers, Roth pointed out the hog industry is well poised to handle influenza in pigs, as many producers have dealt with the H1N1, H2N1 and H3N1 strains for decades. 

“Swine veterinarians and producers are good at recognizing the symptoms. The have good surveillance, good biosecurity and good vaccines,” he concluded. 

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.