The dairy industry in Pennsylvania has been declared free of H5N1 virus – the first major dairy-producing state to reach this status.
Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced on February 12 that the state’s dairy industry had reached the Stage 4 milestone in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS). The designation indicates Pennsylvania’s milk supply has been tested adequately to rule out the presence of the virus in the state’s dairy cattle.
“Pennsylvania’s food supply is safe and secure, due to a unified, aggressive, and effective response strategy,” Redding said. “We are not out of the woods yet, and the threat demands that we keep our guard up.”
Pennsylvania joined the NMTS in early December 2024. The NMTS is designed to increase USDA’s and public health partners’ understanding of the virus’ spread in the United States through a structured, uniform and mandatory testing system that will help swiftly identify which states, and specific herds within them, are affected with H5N1; support the rapid implementation of enhanced biosecurity measures to decrease the risk of transmission to other livestock; and importantly, inform critical efforts to protect farmworkers to help lower their risk of exposure.
No infections in dairy cattle or humans have been detected in Pennsylvania to date. The state will continue to test bulk milk due to the lingering virus threats in other states.
Since Pennsylvania began bulk milk testing, Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System (PADLS) labs have tested more than 22,000 samples, representing nearly 100% of the state’s 4,784 dairy farms. In addition to initiating testing requirements and restrictions for transporting dairy cattle into Pennsylvania after the first detection of H5N1 in dairy cattle in Texas in March 2024, Pennsylvania was also one of the first states to implement a voluntary program for testing lactating dairy cattle.
