STAT April 26, 2024
New federal rules aimed at limiting the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus among dairy cattle go into effect Monday, but detailed guidance documents released Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture reveal its mandatory testing order is less stringent than initially described.
While that is easing concerns from farmers and veterinarians about the economic and logistical burden of testing, it leaves questions about how effective the testing program will be at containing additional outbreaks.
“More testing is better,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and director of Brown University’s Pandemic Center. “But in many ways this policy is very leaky in terms of how much virus it will allow to move. And because we still don’t know what’s driving...
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