Maryland puts restrictions on dairy cow farms to prevent the arrival of avian flu in the state

Mike Murillo | mmurillo@wtop.com
April 11, 2024, 4:26 AM

As avian flu cases among dairy cows are reported in several states, Maryland is taking action to prevent it from spreading into the state. The Maryland Department of Agriculture has issued an order restricting the movement of dairy cows from affected states.

“The concern about movement of cattle is that a lot of the outbreaks in multiple states have been linked to one particular farm in Texas, which implies that the movement of cattle is somehow spreading this virus to other states as well,” Dr. Andrew Pekosz, a virologist who studies viruses such as influenza at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said.

He said how the Type A H5N1 virus moved from birds to cattle remains a mystery, but the milk from one infected cow containing the virus has scientists looking into two theories. ... One is that the virus is spreading from cow to cow. Another is that perhaps the dairy equipment that are used to milk the cows were contaminated with the virus,” he said.

While cases in humans have reportedly only involved a mild case of conjunctivitis, Pekosz said when the H5N1 infects humans, it is oftentimes associated with a very severe disease, which is behind some of the concern over the disease spreading. ... “I think another aspect in the dairy industry right now is raising the awareness of how dairy farmworkers can protect themselves from infections,” he said.

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Mike Murillo
Mike Murillo is a reporter and anchor at WTOP. Before joining WTOP in 2013, he worked in radio in Orlando, New York City and Philadelphia.

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