Highly Pathogenetic Avian Influenza has been on the minds of backyard poultry owners, as well as large-scale operations, since late 2022. Dr. Amber Itle [Idel], Washington state Veterinarian, says it’s very normal for these influenza viruses to circulate. 

But what she says is not normal is for this virus to persist for two years, and perhaps into a third year.

“It’s also been a very awkward thing to have the virus change just enough that it’s been able to adapt to spill over into dairy cattle. That’s very odd.  And it seems to have this affinity for the udder of the dairy cow, so we’re seeing the virus come through in the milk.  I think you know this is a complex issue, but what I will say is that we are very good at response.  We have been able to eradicate HPAI from our domestic flock.”

Three California dairy farms reported cattle infected with the virus. Dr. Itle says the veterinary community is trying to focus on eradicating HPAI from this “very odd” spillover event into dairy cattle.

“So, it sounds like a lot at 194 detections, but we have about 30,000 dairy herds in the United States. What we’re trying to do is get this thing contained and eradicated before it becomes an endemic disease of dairy cattle.  So, it’s a very complex question, like, what’s going on with HPAI? A lot is going on, and yet there’s not a lot going on, so it’s something we’re going to have to continue to lean in on and try to figure out if we can maintain this kind of eradication strategy that we’ve been using with poultry.”