(NEWSnet/AP) — Dairy cattle moving between states must be tested for  bird flu, U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.

The new order, which goes into effect April 29, requires every lactating cow to be tested and post a negative result before moving to a new state.

It will help the agency to understand how the virus is spreading, said Michael Watson, an administrator with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

“We believe we can do tens of thousands of tests a day,” Watson told reporters.

Until now, testing had been done voluntarily and only in cows with symptoms.

The order was announced a day after health officials said they had detected inactive remnants of Type A H5N1 in samples taken from milk during processing and from store shelves. Such remnants pose no known risk to people or the milk supply, officials said.

Samples from a cow in Kansas showed the virus could be adapting to more animals and they detected H5N1 virus in the lung tissue of a dairy cow that had been culled and sent to slaughter.

Follow NEWSnet on Facebook and X platform to get our headlines in your social feeds.

Copyright 2024 NEWSnet and The Associated Press. All rights reserved.