1. APHIS Updates Guidance on the Interstate Movement of Lactating Dairy Cattle
Cattle Moving Interstate From Unaffected States Do Not Have To Test for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
APHIS News Release
April 27, 2026
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued updated guidance related to the April 2024 Federal Order that required testing of lactating dairy cattle before they move across State lines.
Effective immediately, lactating dairy cattle moving interstate from States with Unaffected State Status under the National Milk Testing Strategy are no longer required to be tested for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 prior to movement.
View the updated guidance document: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/aphis-requirements-hpai-livestock-2026.pdf
Key Points
No testing required for lactating dairy cattle originating from States with Unaffected State Status under the National Milk Testing Strategy.
Unaffected State Status requires ongoing testing and surveillance activities to confirm the absence of HPAI in the State's dairy herds.
This update follows a United States Animal Health Association (USAHA) resolution received in October 2025 and is expected to be widely supported by dairy and State animal health regulatory officials.
APHIS does not anticipate any impact on trade of cattle or beef/dairy products.
Public Health and Food Safety
The detection of HPAI H5N1 in lactating dairy cattle does not pose a risk to consumer health or compromise the safety of the commercial milk supply. Pasteurization effectively inactivates HPAI virus. Milk from affected animals is diverted or destroyed to prevent entry into the food supply. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to consider the public health risk low.
The Importance of Biosecurity
USDA remains committed to working with State partners to monitor, investigate, and mitigate the spread of HPAI in livestock. This update does not change?USDA's HPAI eradication strategy. Biosecurity is still key to mitigating the risk of disease introduction or spread between premises.
APHIS recommends?enhanced biosecurity measures?for all dairy farms. Producers should immediately report any livestock with clinical signs, or any unusual sick or dead wildlife, to their State veterinarian.
2. NCBA Recommends Biosecurity Preparedness In The Event of NWS Detection
By Dale Sandlin
Southeast AgNet.com
April 27, 2026
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association is recommending that cattle producers refamiliarize themselves with biosecurity plans ahead of any detection of New World Screwworm and we caught up with Sigrid Johannes with NCBA to learn more.
Johannes said, "From a preparation standpoint, is just familiarize yourself with your state animal health official's resources on anything about movement requirements, but also just basic biosecurity. I think one thing that we've seen really heavily in the cattle industry over the last couple of years, but even looking more broadly to our folks in poultry or in the hog business, biosecurity is everything. And animal movement is usually the number one thing that spreads a disease or a parasite or a pest from one place to another. So with screw worm, it's no different. We're not dealing with an infectious disease like FMD or something like that, but biosecurity does still matter."
"Your state animal health official might provide some of these resources, or you can always go to screwworm.gov, which is the federal website, and start clicking through some of the links there. But some of the things that were included in the playbook documents that got released last week, these updated versions, is guidance on what to do with manure on your place. If you suspect you have a screwworm case, what to do with soil, you know, that might be around the vicinity of where an animal with a suspect case was. What do you look for? How do you visually inspect cattle when you're checking them to make sure you're not missing, you know, one of these small wounds that can end up turning into a massive screwworm problem," said Johannes.
Source: https://southeastagnet.com/2026/04/27/cattle-biosecurity-screwworm-preparedness-ncba/
3. Oregon Horse Tests Positive for Pigeon Fever
EDCC Health Watch
Equus Magazine
April 27, 2026
According to the State Department of Agriculture, one horse in Benton County, Oregon, has tested positive for pigeon fever. The horse was imported to Oregon from California two weeks before diagnosis. One additional horse has been exposed.
Full text: https://equusmagazine.com/news/edcc-health-watch/oregon-horse-tests-positive-for-pigeon-fever
4. Oklahoma State University names new dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine
Oklahoma State Univ. News Release
April 24, 2026
Oklahoma State University President Jim Hess announced Friday [4/24] the appointment of Dr. Richard Prather, DVM, as dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, effective June 30.
Prather brings four decades of veterinary practice experience and extensive relationships across Oklahoma's veterinary, agricultural and industry communities as the college prepares to build a transformational $329 million teaching hospital. The facility will replace the current 40-year-old hospital and position OSU among the nation's premier veterinary programs.
Prather, who earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from OSU in 1986, owned and operated Ellis County Animal Hospital in Shattuck, Oklahoma, with his wife, Dr. Angie Prather, DVM, for more than 30 years, providing mixed animal veterinary services to ranchers, producers and pet owners across northwest Oklahoma. His practice served major cow-calf operations, stocker and feedlot enterprises, equine breeding operations and small animal clients across the region.
Throughout his career, Prather has demonstrated a commitment to veterinary education, hosting more than 60 veterinary students from 10 different universities in his practice and serving on the OSU CVM Admissions Committee.
5. MSU Extension Offers "Healthy Animals, Strong Farms" Trainings for UpperPeninsula Livestock Farms [MI]
Michigan State Univ. News Release
April 27, 2026
Raising livestock comes with many challenges, but maintaining animal health remains one of the most important factors in building a productive and sustainable farm.
Whether you raise a few animals for a direct-market farm, manage a diversified homestead, or operate a larger livestock enterprise, protecting animal health begins
with strong on-farm practices. Anyone who visits your farm-from family members to veterinarians, feed suppliers and customers-plays a role in protecting your animals.
One of the most effective ways to protect livestock is through farm biosecurity. Biosecurity practices help prevent the introduction and spread of diseases that threaten
animal health and farm profitability. These practices are especially important during outbreaks of diseases such as avian influenza, bovine tuberculosis and other livestock
diseases that impact farms across the region.
To help farmers take practical steps toward better biosecurity, Michigan State University Extension, in partnership with the Center for Regional Food Systems, has developed a
new set of resources and training opportunities specifically designed for farmers and agricultural professionals in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
6. EHV-1 Is Here to Stay; Here's What We Do About It
Virtually all horses are exposed to the EHV-1 virus at a young age, which guides the way we respond to an outbreak
By US Equestrian Communications Dept.
April 27, 2026
Many horse owners become acutely aware of Equine Herpesvirus (EHV) when there's an outbreak or a reported positive test in your local community. The reality is that EHV is a permanent part of the equine environment - not just at horse shows, but across the population.
Virtually all horses are exposed to the EHV-1 virus at a young age, and the virus hides out (is "latent") in most horses without causing symptoms. The virus is intermittently shed from healthy horses into the environment, particularly in times of stress, and this is how horses around them end up getting exposed to higher levels of the virus and develop symptoms. This is also the reason that you may see small outbreaks at unrelated facilities - those horses didn't necessarily catch the virus from each other or from a shared human contact; they may have experienced a stress response and become sick without exposure to another horse, or may have encountered a high viral shedder on property.
This is also the reason that staying home is not the solution it might appear to be. Horses can (and do) become sick with EHV without having traveled in years, and can travel frequently without becoming sick or newly exposed to the virus.
Full text: https://www.usef.org/media/press-releases/ehv-1-is-here-to-stay-heres-what-we-do-about-it