As of this writing, 41 California dairies (now 56 dairies) had been confirmed as infected with HPAI. A handful of additional herds will likely be confirmed this week. A single Merced turkey farm has also been infected and depopulated.
As the number of infected herds climbs, producers are understandably concerned, wanting to know how to prevent the disease from entering their herd and how to best manage the disease if it does. On Thursday, September 26, CDQAP, UCCE, and CMAB brought both disease control experts and dairy practitioners together to discuss Managing Cattle Through HPAI. The webinar was recorded and can be made available to dairy producers and industry partners by contacting CMAB.
Dr. Natalie Ward from CDFA provided a status update on the outbreak. Dr. Jason Lombard from Colorado State, the foremost veterinary epidemiologist on the subject, shared information on how the virus is transmitted and what biosecurity steps are believed to be effective. Finally, two leading private dairy practitioners from the Central Valley, Dr. Maxwell Beal and Dr. Murray Minnema, focused on managing infected herds and treating sick cows.
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