US requires bird flu tests for dairy cows being moved across states

Testing of pasteurised milk from stores found genetic traces of H5N1 virus, but fragments do not indicate it contains live virus

Dairy cows being moved across states must be tested for the bird flu, under a federal order issued on Wednesday aimed at containing the spread of the virus across US cattle farms.

The clampdown comes after testing of pasteurised milk from grocery store shelves found genetic traces of the H5N1 virus. Health officials said that these fragments of virus do not indicate that the milk contains live virus and that they have “seen nothing that would change our assessment” that the supply is safe.