Bird Flu Has Been Detected in Van Buren County, Marking It as the 27 Dairy Herd Infection

Aug 01, 2024

By Michelle Jokisch Polo

The highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed at a dairy farm in Van Buren County. The dairy herd of 35 cattle tested positive on Friday according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The new case brings the total number of dairy herds impacted in the bird flu outbreak in cattle to 27.

State officials issued an emergency order in May requiring dairy and poultry farms to enhance biosecurity measures to prevent further spread of the virus.

The order has impacted Michigan’s summer fair season as it prohibits the exhibition of lactating dairy cattle and those in the last two months of pregnancy until there have been no positive cases for sixty days.

So far, bird flu has been reported in two Michigan farmworkers and more than six million birds. The number of cases has prompted legislators to seek solutions to address the outbreak.

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Video: ASF Control Lessons - Dr. Mary-Louise Penrith

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Mary-Louise Penrith, Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria, shares what decades of work have revealed about ASF control. She explains why vaccine development remains difficult, how human activity and food waste drive disease spread, why resistant pig populations are an important research area, and how strict biosecurity with the right disinfectants can help to stop transmission. Listen now on all major platforms!

"It's really a very human-driven disease because people move pigs, decide how they're raised, how they're sold, and good biosecurity can do anything to ensure control."

Meet the guest: Dr. Mary-Louise Penrith / mary-louise-penrith-2b12bb42 is an Extraordinary Professor in the Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. A veterinarian and internationally recognized researcher, she has dedicated decades to African swine fever epidemiology, control, and pig health, supporting FAO and WOAH initiatives while advancing research and education. Listen to Dr. Mary-Louise Penrith on the Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.