Episode 220 - New USDA resources, diagnostic testing, practical PPE, pre-movement testing - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
What is up, everybody? This is doctor Joe Armstrong. It is approximately 3 PM on April 4, 2024. We're continuing our journey delving into this whole situation with a highly pathogenic avian influenza like virus in cattle. We have some updates.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:One of the big ones is that USDA APHIS completely revamped their website. It's a lot more user friendly, it's got a lot more information on it, It's actually quite easy to see the data that they do have and are making public. I'm not going to say I'm impressed, but I'm surprised at how good it looks. They've got a lot more resources available now and they've posted a couple key things that I think are good resources to look into. One is a frequently asked questions document.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:That's good stuff. And it's got at least one thing in there that I have not seen reported anywhere else, and that is the actual species of birds that they have been finding deceased on these premises. And right now, what they're reporting is that at this time, there's 3 species that have been identified: That's pigeons, blackbirds, and grackles. I'm not a bird expert, but I can tell you all 3 of those are often found inside of barns. Regardless of how they're ventilated or how tight that barn is kept, those 3 species of birds are likely inside your barn.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:2 other resources that are available at this website when we're looking through it, and I'll link to the website below so we can all stay on the same page, there are recommendations for state animal health officials, accredited veterinarians, and producers. That's all in one document, and it goes into PPE and biosecurity practices all in one document. The other piece that came out is the testing recommendations for influenza a in cattle. So the reason that I didn't get to this right away, because this stuff came out a couple days ago, is that there wasn't really a whole lot that was new. We covered most of it in last episode when we talked about PPE and what to do in that situation, heightened biosecurity protocols, looking at that, monitoring for sick animals and wildlife around your farm.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:We had already covered it, so I wasn't in a huge rush to get to this. We'll talk about some other stuff here in a second, but I wanna dive into the testing recommendations. One of the things I haven't said yet that is important to note is that APHIS will fund specific laboratories for testing. Laboratories that are part of NALN or the National Animal Health Laboratory Network are eligible for APHIS to fund some of the testing for animals that fit the case profile. They will not fund any testing on unaffected cattle.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Now, of course, that comes with limits, but it is good to know that there is money available for some of this. They're funding for up to 20 mammals and unlimited birds per premise. If the animal is lactating, we need one of those samples to be milk or mammary tissue. They also note that they will not allow more than 2 samples per mammal. Another interesting note in this document is that USDA is asking for retrospective cases, so they're looking backwards.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:And they're looking for herds that have banked samples, whether that is milk or serum. They're looking for those banked samples from herds that think they have experienced a illness that fits the case profile since November 1, 2023. USDA will fund that testing in an effort to gather more data, more information. They will fund that testing, and all the same limits apply. 20 mammals total, 2 samples per mammal.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:So there's a ton of different documents describing biosecurity and the measures to take and all of that, plenty of documents describing PPE or personal protective equipment. We've covered some of this already, but I think it's a good time to review personal protective equipment and some of my thoughts on the CDC's recommendations. So the first thing to note is if you are working directly with cattle that have tested positive or suspected to be infected, you have to be watching yourself for flu like symptoms, which can include fever or feeling feverish, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue, eye redness, also known as conjunctivitis, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing. If you have those symptoms and you work directly with cattle that have tested positive or suspected to be infected, you have to go see your physician. This is definitely a time to be watching out for each other.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:If you notice it in somebody else, talk to them, check-in with them, or see how they're doing. Remind them that it is important to go in, get tested, because we cannot diagnose it based on symptoms alone. So that brings us to personal protective equipment. When people must work with sick or dead animals, or with animal carcasses, raw milk, feces, litter, or materials contaminated by birds, or other animals with confirmed or suspected HPAI like infections, you have to be looking at personal protective equipment. The CDC has a long list of things that you need to do.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Safety goggles that are indirectly or unvented, disposable gloves, boots or boot covers, a NIOSH approved respirator like an n 95, disposable fluid resistant coveralls, and disposable head cover or hair cover. That's a long list. Is it the ideal? That's the ideal for protection. I recognize what's in the real world and what's gonna happen in the real world.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:When we look at, especially summer, hot environment, dressing up in a Tyvek suit with full goggles, hairnet, gloves, boots covered all the way. It's miserable, and I would ask anybody making those recommendations to come stand in the parlor with that long list of things on and see how long they last. So I'm not going to say that this is not ideal. It's the ideal way to protect yourself if you are working with potentially infected animals or animal related things. But I think we do have to look at compliance in this whole deal and whether or not people are going to actually be willing to comply with that recommendation.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:I am very skeptical that there are a lot of people out there that will do the whole list of things. Very, very low chance of that happening. The important thing to remember is what we're trying to do. We are trying to limit our exposure and reduce our risk. So I do think if you're working with potentially infected or infected animals or animal things, you should wear some kind of protective eyewear.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Does it have to be the full on goggle? That would be the ideal way to protect yourself. But something is better than nothing. That will help you remember to not touch your eyes with your hands. It will also protect you from splashing.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:I think anyone who spent any amount of time in the parlor knows that there is splashing of all sorts of different things in the parlor. Milk, feces, urine. When we spray down and try to clean up, we re aerosolizing things and spraying things. Protective eyewear of some sort is a good idea. I think along those same lines, when we're talking about things splashing and going everywhere, a mask isn't all that bad of idea either.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Am I saying you need to go out and buy, like, a giant n 95 fitted respirator? That would be ideal for your protection. But something's better than nothing. Catching the theme here. Alright.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Let's move on. I won't be tempted to jump up on the soapbox. Let's talk about boots, gloves, coveralls, and something to cover your hair. What is the goal of those things? I tell you what.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:The goal of gloves has been predominantly in the parlor to keep your germs and bugs off the cows, but now we're also using them to keep the bugs from the cows off of you. Gloves are an extension of your hand. If you put the glove on, and you then touch everything and touch your face, the point of the glove is gone. Gloves are great because if they get dirty in any way or soiled, you change them out, and you're clean again right away. The goal of some of this personal protective equipment is to leave things in the dirty location so that we can have designated clean areas.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Gloves are a great way to do that. You're capturing all this stuff on the glove, and then you can throw the glove away, wash your hands, and now your hands, something you touch everything with, should be clean. That applies to boots and coveralls as well. I can't leave my hands, my feet, and the rest of my body on the farm, but I can leave gloves, boots, and coveralls on the farm. Similar train of thought, I cannot leave my hands, my feet, and the rest of my body in the parlor when I go to the break room to eat a sandwich.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:But I can leave my gloves, my boots, and my coveralls in the parlor when I go to the break room to eat my lunch. I hope you see where I'm going with this. Personal protective equipment and basic biosecurity aren't rocket science, but they take some thought and planning. And they definitely take a lot of communication so that everyone's on the same page. That likely is going to be identifying someone on your farm that can be the bridge.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:There are language barriers on a lot of farms, and we need to figure out a way to make sure that what we're saying is understood, not just heard. That often means finding someone you trust that can speak both languages to make sure the message is clear. I'm a big proponent of explaining the why behind every recommendation. I don't like mandated things without knowing why we're doing them. Because when people understand the why behind the recommendation, compliance is so much better.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:They follow that recommendation if they know why they're doing it. That's another reason you have to make sure your message is clearly understood, not just heard. Alright. We're approaching another soapbox. So we're gonna dive off in another direction.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:One of the things coming from these documents, these new documents that were posted, is the recommendation for pre movement testing. What's very clear from these documents is that Apis will not be paying for pre movement testing. So pre movement testing is exactly what it sounds like: we're going to, before we move animals, test them to see if they are positive or negative, and we want them to be negative before we send them somewhere else. The list of suggested samples to take isn't super long, mostly because at this time, APHIS is saying that we do not need to test calves or dairy beef. What they are suggesting we test are any pregnant animals, springing heifers, breeding bulls, lactating cows.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:So everything else. If they're lactating cows, they want milk. When we sample for milk, we need to get every quarter. There have been reports of only 1 quarter having the virus, or only a few of the quarters, so you need to combine all 4 quarters into one sample. Now when we talk about pregnant animals, springing heifers, breeding bulls, there's no milk to collect.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:That's when they want nasal swabs. You can use one swab and get both nostrils. They are recommending you use a PrimeStore MTM or BHI swab. Big thing to note is that they want you to swirl the swab in the media and then squeeze out any fluid in the swab by pressing it on the side of the tube. Then you take the swab out.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:You don't retain the swab in the media. A note that PrimeStore MTM is the only media that can be submitted without ice packs. If you are gonna move lactating cows and you wanna do pre movement testing, laboratories can pool the samples together. Up to 5 milk samples can be pooled into 1. That might help you on cost.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Now I'm sorry if I went through that really fast. The documents are available. I'll make sure they're linked in the show notes. Part of the reason that I'm going through it fast is, to be honest, pre movement testing, do I honestly think that people are going to do it even if it is recommended by USDA APHIS? No.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:I don't. I don't expect people are going to actually do it. Until there is a defined plan for what will happen every time there is a positive in terms of movement and what's going to happen after that positive test, people are very unlikely to test. When we talk about a clear plan for what will happen, if there is a stoppage of movement after a positive test, There also needs to be criteria to resume movement. Until all of that is laid out, I find it very unlikely that anyone is going to test.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Is that right? Is that wrong? I'm not going to comment on that. That is just what's going to happen. Check the show notes for all the links to the resources.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:If you have comments, questions, scathing rebuttals, those go to themoosroom@umn.edu Call us, 612-624-3610. Check out our website, extension.umn.edu. Thank you everybody for listening. Hang in there.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:I'll talk to you soon.
