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Volume 32, Number 2—February 2026

Dispatch

Retail Milk Monitoring of Influenza A(H5N1) in Dairy Cattle, United States, 2024–2025

Natalie N. Tarbuck, John Franks, Jeremy C. Jones, Ahmed Kandeil, Jennifer DeBeauchamp, Lance Miller, Thomas Fabrizio, Karlie Woodard, Hannah J. Cochran, Madison C. Owsiany, Bryant M. Foreman, James F. Lowe, Richard J. Webby, and Andrew S. BowmanComments to Author 
Author affiliation: The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, USA (N.N. Tarbuck, H.J. Cochran, M.C. Owsiany, B.M. Foreman, A.S. Bowman); St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, USA (J. Franks, J.C. Jones, A. Kandeil, J. DeBeauchamp, L. Miller, T. Fabrizio, K. Woodard, R.J. Webby); University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Urbana, Illinois, USA (J.F. Lowe)

Main Article

Figure

Timeline and geographic distribution of influenza A(H5N1) outbreaks in dairy cattle herds in study of retail milk monitoring of influenza A(H5N1) in dairy cattle, United States, 2024–2025. A) Timeline of detections and federal interventions. B–D) Locations of confirmed H5N1 outbreaks in dairy herds, standardized as the prevalence of infected herds relative to the total number of herds per state, on the basis of 2022 US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census of Agriculture data (6). A) USDA reported outbreaks (n = 36), March 25–May 3, 2024; B) USDA reported outbreaks (n = 701), May 4–December 8, 2024); C) USDA reported outbreaks (n = 218), December 9, 2024–January 29, 2025. The red virion marks the state of processing plants where influenza A virus–positive retail milk was identified. Maps were generated using BioRender (https://BioRender.com). HPAI, highly pathogenic avian influenza; IAV, influenza A virus.

Figure. Timeline and geographic distribution of influenza A(H5N1) outbreaks in dairy cattle herds in study of retail milk monitoring of influenza A(H5N1) in dairy cattle, United States, 2024–2025. A) Timeline of detections and federal interventions. B–D) Locations of confirmed H5N1 outbreaks in dairy herds, standardized as the prevalence of infected herds relative to the total number of herds per state, on the basis of 2022 US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census of Agriculture data (6). A) USDA reported outbreaks (n = 36), March 25–May 3, 2024; B) USDA reported outbreaks (n = 701), May 4–December 8, 2024); C) USDA reported outbreaks (n = 218), December 9, 2024–January 29, 2025. The red virion marks the state of processing plants where influenza A virus–positive retail milk was identified. Maps were generated using BioRender (https://BioRender.com). HPAI, highly pathogenic avian influenza; IAV, influenza A virus.

Main Article

References
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