As bird flu spreads among U.S. cattle, veterinarians find themselves in a familiar position: the frontlines

STAT July 3, 2024
Andrew Joseph

When, in April, the federal government began requiring some cows to be tested for a strain of avian flu before their herds could be moved across state lines, it seemed like an obvious step to try to track and slow the virus that had started spreading among U.S. dairy cattle.

But Joe Armstrong, a veterinarian at the University of Minnesota extension school, feared the U.S. Department of Agriculture rule could lead to potential problems for his colleagues, who were in effect being deputized to implement it.

“I am 100% expecting this to result in many arguments with clients,” he said on a podcast then, deploying the term veterinarians use for the farmers who hire them. “Whether or not the practicing...

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