USDA and HHS Announce Actions to Reduce Impact and Spread of H5N1

USDA announced a series of new steps it is taking regarding H5N1 to mitigate risks to workers and the general public, ensure the safety of Americas food supply, and mitigate risk to livestock, owners, and producers. USDA will offer assistance for producers with H5N1 affected premises to improve on-site biosecurity in order to reduce spread. In addition, USDA is taking steps to make available financial tools for lost milk production in herds affected by H5N1. The USDA measures represent a value of up to $28,000 per premises to support increased biosecurity activities over the next 120 days. Meanwhile, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also announced new actions through the CDC and FDA to increase testing and laboratory screening and testing capacity, genomic sequencing, and other interventions to protect the health and safety of dairy and other potentially impacted food items.