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TAYLORSVILLE — Utah agriculture officials are imposing new dairy cattle restrictions to prevent a spreading disease from reaching the state.
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food is now requiring that farmers have certificates of veterinary inspection within seven days of transport if the cattle is coming in from Texas, Kansas, New Mexico or any other state affected by a suspected bird flu outbreak among cattle. A statement that the cattle herd has had no signs of the disease must also be included on all certificates.
The disease has not been detected in Utah cattle. The new restrictions went into effect immediately on Tuesday and will last at least the next 30 days, according to the department.
Utah agriculture officials issued a statement last week saying they were monitoring an "unusual disease" impacting dairy cattle in the three states listed in the new restrictions. Cows — especially older ones — were reported to have had a "sudden drop" in milk production, as well as impacts to several health systems, like fever and diarrhea.
The mystery disease may have now been solved. Four cattle in Kansas and Texas tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on Monday.
Unpasteurized clinical samples of milk and oropharyngeal swabs detected the disease in the cattle. The agency said many impacted farms also reported finding dead wild birds on their properties, supporting the theory that avian flu is behind the outbreak.
"At this stage, there is no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health," the agency said Monday, noting that dairy farms are required to send milk only from healthy animals into processing.
The pasteurization process has "continually proven" to eliminate bacteria and viruses like influenza, the federal agency added.
Utah officials said Tuesday it's unclear if the flu is only a contributing factor to the disease, though. It's why they remain cautious about the situation.
"Additional testing is being conducted on other suspect dairies to gather additional data," the agency said. "Utah veterinarians who suspect cases of this emerging disease should immediately report it to the state veterinarian's office at 801-982-2235 or statevet@utah.gov."
The highly pathogenic avian influenza has been a major issue for the past two years, impacting millions of wild and farm birds, including ones in Utah. More than 131 million poultry worldwide either died from the disease or were killed off in 2022 alone, according to the Associated Press.
Avian flu also killed off more than a dozen endangered Californian condors living near the Utah-Arizona border last year, and — according to the AP — is also a major culprit behind a recent rise in egg prices, as the disease continues to create problems.
