United States Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) responded on Thursday to a Washington Post story critical of bird flu testing in dairy cows and the sharing of results. Grassley says that the logistics of mandating more testing in millions of cows would be difficult.
However, Grassley says he agrees that testing results should be shared more quickly between USDA, FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and then with the public.
He says experts agree with the need to share that information quickly.
Grassley says the question remains.
If not, Grassley says USDA should encourage faster reporting to help limit the spread of avian influenza already detected in unpasteurized milk but killed by pasteurization.
Earlier in the week the Department of Agriculture mandated testing for H5N1 of dairy cattle that cross state lines. The move is to protect the U.S. livestock industry from the threat of avian influenza and to learn more about the disease.
