Nearly a year after a wild bird infected with H5N1 avian flu presumably passed its viral baggage to a dairy cow in the Texas panhandle — which has subsequently led to the infection of more than 700 herds nationwide and sickened at least 35 dairy workers — the nation’s agriculture department announced Friday that it will sample the nation’s milk supply to test for the virus.
State agriculture officials on Thursday banned Fresno-based Raw Farm from distributing its raw dairy products to retailers amid ongoing concerns about possible bird flu infections among its cattle.