Have questions about how the recent H5N1 strain of avian influenza—or bird flu—outbreak is impacting cow health, worker safety, dairy products, and consumer trust?

This special bonus episode of Dairy Digressions takes you straight to the heart of the 2024 ADSA Annual Meeting, where top animal health and food safety experts tackle your most pressing H5N1 concerns. Join moderator Jessica McArt, PhD, DVM, DABVP (Dairy Practice), as she poses audience questions to panelists Pamela Ruegg, DVM, MPVM, David J. Ellis chair in antimicrobial resistance and director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship and Dairy Health Management Laboratory at Michigan State University, and Nicole Martin, PhD, assistant research professor in dairy foods microbiology and associate director of the Milk Quality Improvement Program in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University.

This episode is essential listening for anyone in the dairy sector!

Do you have unanswered H5N1 questions you’d like us to tackle on the pod? Send them to [email protected]! We’ll be back soon with more as the science around this outbreak develops.

Bonus Episode Show Notes

Connect with the Panel Participants

Learn more about Jess McArt’s work, and connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Instagram.  

Learn more about Pamela Ruegg, and connect with her on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and YouTube.

Learn more about Nicole Martin, and connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter/X.

Review the H5N1 responses from the US Department of Agriculture, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and US Food and Drug Administration.  

Save the date for the 2025 ADSA Annual Meeting (June 22–25) in Louisville, Kentucky.

Catch Up on the Reports and Resources Discussed in the Episode

Persistence of influenza H5N1 and H1N1 viruses in unpasteurized milk on milking unit surfaces, Emerging Infectious Diseases (2024)

A One Health investigation into H5N1 avian influenza virus epizootics on two dairy farms, medRxiv preprint (2024)

Spillover of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus to dairy cattle, Nature (2024)

Experimental reproduction of viral replication and disease in dairy calves and lactating cows inoculated with highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, bioRxiv preprint (2024)

Pathogenicity and transmissibility of bovine H5N1 influenza virus, Nature (2024)

2024 highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1): Michigan dairy herd and poultry flock summary, US Department of Agriculture (2024)

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in animals: Interim recommendations for prevention, monitoring, and public health investigations, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024)

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) clade 2.3.4.4b virus infection in domestic dairy cattle and cats, United States, 2024, Emerging Infectious Diseases (2024)

Fatal infection in ferrets after ocular inoculation with highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus, Emerging Infectious Diseases (2024)

Inactivation of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus with high temperature short time continuous flow pasteurization and virus detection in bulk milk tanks, Journal of Food Protection Preprint (2024)

Inactivation of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in raw milk at 63°C and 72°C, New England Journal of Medicine (2024)

USDA announces $824 million in new funding to protect livestock health; launches voluntary H5N1 dairy herd status pilot program, US Department of Agriculture (2024)