Episode 34: H5N1 Bird Flu in Dairy Updates with Dr. Sarah Allen

Sarah Allen, Ph.D.
Sarah Allen, Ph.D.

On this episode of the Maine Farmcast, Dr. Glenda Pereira, Assistant Extension Professor and State Dairy Specialist for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, has a conversation with Dr. Sarah Allen about the ongoing Avian Flu (H5N1) situation in dairy. This episode was recorded on December 19, 2024 and this situation is ever evolving, so please find the latest updates on the USDA APHIS website.

Dr. Allen holds a doctorate from North Carolina State University, in which she focused on research in mycotoxin mitigation, milk quality, and milk fatty acids. After working as a dairy consultant for Purina Animal Nutrition in Western New York, she transitioned into her current role as Extension Dairy Specialist at the University of New Hampshire. 

Episode Resources

Automated Transcript

Glenda Pereira: 00:31

Welcome to the Maine Farmcast. This is your host, Dr. Glenda Pereira. Today, I am joined by my colleague over the border, Dr. Sarah Allen, who works, as the New Hampshire dairy specialist. Sarah and I work closely together because we have similar roles. I’m the dairy specialist in Maine, and she covers the entire state of New Hampshire.

Glenda Pereira: 00:54

And she’s just somebody that I have been enjoying working with in the past couple of years because we’re both new in our respective roles, and she brings a whole another area of expertise that really complements mine. So I love working with you, Sarah. Thank you for being here on the podcast today.

Sarah Allen: 01:12

Thank you so much for having me, Glenda. I’m excited to be here today. Yeah.

Glenda Pereira: 01:16

So, Sarah, some folks may know you, some folks may not know you. Can you, tell us a little bit about yourself?

Sarah Allen: 01:24

Yeah. Absolutely. I’m not a New Hampshire native. I grew up in Arkansas and I did my undergrad and my master’s at Mississippi State. I studied animal and dairy sciences and that’s where I really got into the dairy industry since I didn’t grow up on a farm.

Sarah Allen: 01:43

So my master’s, I worked in dairy nutrition and mycotoxins, and then, went to North Carolina State for Ph.D. And there, I worked under Dr. Stephanie Ward. She’s the extension specialist at in North Carolina, and I worked with de novo fatty acids and using them on farms. So a little bit of nutrition work and a little bit of management. And then during COVID, when I graduated, I went and I moved up to New York, and I worked with Purina Animal Nutrition doing nutrition consulting out in western New York.

Sarah Allen: 02:17

So most of my background is in nutrition and dairy management, and I’ve been, I guess, for 2 years now, the extension specialist, here at UNH, loving New Hampshire and really just working with the New Hampshire dairy farmers on whatever they need from me.

Glenda Pereira: 02:38

What are some of the projects you’re working on right now?

Sarah Allen: 02:41

Yeah. Actually, I’m working with you on our calf and heifer cohort project where we’re working with Maine and New Hampshire farmers on their calf and heifer management. I’m also trying to get more programming for new and existing value added producers. That’s something that’s in the works. I’m really working to try and build UNH’s biosecurity protocols.

Sarah Allen: 03:06

We currently don’t have any official SOPs, so we’re going through those recommendations. And I think that covers the majority of my work right now.

Glenda Pereira: 03:18

Yeah. And, that that kinda leads us into the topic of interest today. So we are gonna be talking, briefly about the avian flu, which has been a topic of interest within the dairy industry in the last year. So we’re we’re recording this podcast on, Thursday, December 19, 2024 to give some context because this topic is continuing to evolve. So give us sort of, you know, the cliff notes of what’s been going on with this topic.

Sarah Allen: 03:53

Yeah. So back in March, I think everybody was aware whenever we first discovered in Texas that avian influenza had been found on a dairy herd. We’ve been monitoring this situation for months now, and there’s been different strategies proposed through biosecurity programs, through the USDA, testing programs through the USDA, a federal order that prevented, travel across states without testing. But the the thing that’s happened most recently is that on December 6th, the USDA released, a new federal order that was enhancing the current milk testing program essentially. It’s a little bit confusing because it doesn’t tell you what’s going to happen in your state.

Sarah Allen: 04:44

There are a few different options, I guess is the way to phrase it. It doesn’t just because that federal order was released doesn’t mean that it’s going to look the same on a Vermont dairy farm and a, you know, Mississippi dairy farm. There’s guidance that’s left up to the state to work with the USDA on that.

Glenda Pereira: 05:05

Right. Because it’s because it’s all relevant, right, to the number of herds, to the number of cows, to the number of infections. Because like you said, we’ve been monitoring, so we know that it’s we we’ve we’ve tested it, and we know that it’s, in some states, but not every state. Yeah. So a different approach needs to happen based on, what what trends we’ve been seeing.

Glenda Pereira: 05:29

So do you wanna clarify that a little bit better?

Sarah Allen: 05:33

Yeah. So for example, right now, there are almost 300 or maybe over 300. There’s multiple hundreds of cases in California. And so California just issued, a state of emergency so that they could really pull in resources to start up their testing program much in a much more robust way. Wherein Vermont has recently announced that their program to test individual dairy farms got approved.

Sarah Allen: 05:59

So they’re one of the new states that’s going to be working with USDA. However, New Hampshire and Maine don’t have an official program yet. So while Vermont dairy farmers over the next couple of weeks or however long it takes will probably, be initiating that, you know, on farm testing, we may not even see on farm testing in New Hampshire and Maine. It all really depends on what, the state agencies decide to do within that federal order. So what the federal order is requiring is basically that, there is a level of testing that would cover the majority of the farms.

Sarah Allen: 06:38

They have a specific number. I don’t remember how much it is, but it’s it’s the majority of the farms. So that might look like silo testing at the processor level or testing in a truck. It doesn’t necessarily mean on farm testing. However, if something tests positive, so for example, if, a plant that carries both Vermont and New Hampshire milk has a silo that tests positive and that silo may contain milk from both states, both states are then required to be able to say where that milk came from, which one someone is causing this to test positive, which farm is the origin of that positive test.

Sarah Allen: 07:23

But that may not be the choice for other states because there is the option to not do individual on farm testing immediately. So, ultimately, you kind of have to wait and see what your state officials plan, what they what they come up with for a plan. And right now, we’re just still in the waiting game. There our state officials are working with the USDA to try and develop a plan that is the most beneficial for the federal requirements as well as the dairy farmers.

Glenda Pereira: 07:56

Yeah. Absolutely. But there are a lot of resources while we sort of, wait for the the state official guidelines. So something that, farmers can be thinking about is, you know, having conversations with their employees, with their families about, their health. Because if people are healthy generally, and maybe have some level of immunity, even to, like, the regular, you know, flu, not even the avian flu, that could potentially mean that if if they are exposed to raw milk that has the h five n one virus, that they may be able to have a better defense system in place so then they can fight off the avian flu.

Glenda Pereira: 08:46

But just having those conversations and being aware that the best way to tackle this is to think about our own health because the the farming community, unfortunately, is at a higher risk of exposure than the public, the the general public, because the dairy farmers and the dairy employees are handling raw milk, which contains the virus. And until that raw milk is then processed, and pasteurized so we know that pasteurization works. And so once you pasteurize the milk, the milk is then way more safer to handle, but we know that raw milk is is obviously a source of contamination for folks. And then thinking about PPE. So if you’re handling raw milk in the parlor and you’re handling raw milk to feed calves, you you know, maybe think about glasses or an eye shield because it you you know, you can, get splashed with that.

Glenda Pereira: 09:39

You know, we’re in the winter season now, potentially using masks because it is a little bit cooler, so we can tolerate a little bit better the temperatures in the parlor and when handling raw milk. But that’s really where that contamination is gonna be coming from if you if you are in a state or if your herd is, contaminated with avian flu.

Sarah Allen: 10:01

Yeah. And the CDC has guidance on what to do if your herd well, if you’re at a heightened risk, so if you’re just a farm worker that is potentially handling sick animals particularly, but also if you’re herd test positive, there there is guidance and it gets pretty extensive. The recommendations kind of end up going as high as goggles and face masks and, disposable coveralls and so that would be kind of like the highest level. I think it’s really easy though to recommend particularly if you think you’re at a higher risk goggles because some of the quite a few of the cases have been conjunctivitis or, like, pink eye, gloves, washing your hands more frequently. You know, if you’re not going to wear full PPE, particularly if you’re if we haven’t had a positive case near us, I think it’s still

Glenda Pereira: 11:01

an important a good press to

Sarah Allen: 11:02

just yeah. To basic hygiene will carry you a long ways into just trying to keep you from getting sick and most of the cases have been pretty mild. This virus has historically caused some severe cases in other countries over decades. Maybe not this particular strain, but the avian influenza in general, has been known in other strains to cause severe cases. So just be careful, really.

Glenda Pereira: 11:32

Yeah. So other than that, I mean, I think we just wanted to give a nice, little update and summary about where we are at. Like I mentioned in the beginning, we’re, recording this on December 19th, so more information may be released in the time that this episode is released. But was there anything else we wanted to, mention to our listeners?

Sarah Allen: 11:57

I would just say this is as always, this is an ever evolving situation, and I’m glad that you mentioned the date because this could change tomorrow. If you have questions, there are resources online. The APHIS website for h five n one is the most up to date resource for this on a national level, and going to your state veterinarian or your state agency is going to be the best way to get the most accurate information. Glenda and I are always happy to answer questions, but realistically, we still are getting most of our information from our state veterinarians and they are on conversations with folks at a national level daily. So if you have questions, please reach out to your state veterinarian.

Glenda Pereira: 12:44

Well, great. It was awesome

Sarah Allen: 12:45

to hear from you, Sarah. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

Colt Knight: 12:59

Howdy, folks. Dr. Knight here. The Maine Farmcast wants to hear from you. Please send us your questions, comments, or suggested episodes to extension.farmcast@maine.edu.

In complying with the letter and spirit of applicable laws and pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, familial status, ancestry, age, disability physical or mental, genetic information, or veterans or military status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 5713 Chadbourne Hall, Room 412, University of Maine, Orono, ME  04469-5713, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).