HealthFriday, November 13
Oregon confirms its first case of bird flu in dairy cattle
The PDXtoday team
If you drink milk, here's the short version. The Oregon Department of Agriculture confirmed bird flu at a commercial dairy in Morrow County, the state's first case in dairy cattle. The farm is under quarantine, and as of Thursday officials hadn't identified any other affected dairies.
Bird flu reached an Oregon dairy herd more than two years after it hit cattle
- March 2024Bird flu is first detected in dairy cattle.
- Late 2024Oregon begins weekly milk surveillance testing.
- Nov. 2026Oregon confirms its first dairy case, in Morrow County.
APHIS says routine surveillance under the National Milk Testing Strategy caught the infection in a herd that had consistently tested negative. Milk from affected cattle is diverted from commercial tanks, and officials say pasteurized milk is safe.
- Public risk: low, says the CDC; higher near cattle or poultry
- Washington: a Yakima County farmworker died earlier this month
- Two other Yakima farmworkers got sick but weren't hospitalized
22states where dairy cattle have been infected since March 2024
Oregon's detection isn't surprising, state veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz said, since the virus is spreading among dairy cattle nationwide.