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A newly announced financial incentive for farms to curb the spread of bird flu in dairy cattle drew mixed opinions Friday, with some farmers saying they were grateful for the money to help curb the economic impact, but farmworker advocates questioning whether the money will be paid to workers. It is enough to encourage further testing for the H5N1 virus.
As part of the plan, announced Friday by the US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Agriculture, The government will pay up to $28,000 per farm over the next four months to support special measures to prevent bird flu in dairy cattle. Approximately $98 million will be credited to USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to support the program.
The USDA confirmed the first case of bird flu in cows in late March. Since then, more than 40 herds in nine states have tested positive.
Currently, health officials are keeping the risk to humans low because the virus is not easily transmitted from person to person. But scientists say spreading the infection in domestic animals like cattle is dangerous because the virus is so close to humans that it can adapt and become fully human-borne. If this happens, researchers say, it could trigger another epidemic.
“I think it's fair to say that our priority at USDA in terms of our mission is to treat this as an animal health incident,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Friday.
The USDA acknowledges that some dairy producers are wary of the government coming to their farms and inspecting livestock. It has been said that agricultural workers with symptoms are also unwilling to be tested for H5N1 influenza; Because most of them are not compensated if they have to take sick leave.
As part of the plan announced Friday, the USDA will provide financial assistance — up to $2,000 per month — to affected farms for producers who provide their workers with personal protective equipment or help wash their uniforms. Funding is also available to farmers who allow their workers to participate in research by the USDA and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Employees participating in the CDC study will be compensated for their time.
According to Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC's executive deputy director, workers are paid $75 to participate in an interview and provide a nasal swab and a blood sample, although they don't have to do all three.
Farmworker advocates say they doubt the $75 fee is enough to encourage more testing.
“There are some important resources being allocated to the cattle owners. But there is far less advice for workers in close contact and at high risk of working in milking parlors,” said Elizabeth Strater, director of strategic campaigns for the United Farm Workers.
“$75 doesn't seem like a good gamble for someone who's going to be out of work for too long. And $75 isn't going to feed their family,” she says.
Strater estimates there are 150,000 to 200,000 dairy workers in the US.
“That's not a lot of people. But if you think about how important it is to protect public health, you'd think we'd put all our resources into a protective ring around these people.
Farm workers are reluctant to get tested even if they have symptoms, Strater said, because a positive test could mean time off work.
“The test situation is really challenging,” said Bethany Alkauter, director of research and public health programs at the National Farm Worker Health Center.
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Alcauter said public health officials will go to a doctor if someone has flu symptoms, take an occupational health history, and if the worker is positive for the flu, the doctor will send that person's swab to the state population. A health lab is about to test for H5N1. “But this is not a very realistic situation,” she said after being exposed to H.
In addition to the payment to protect workers, farms receive up to $1,500 per farm to support biosecurity plans. The USDA gives dairy farms $100 to purchase a device called an in-line sampler so their milk can be tested as it travels between cows and holding tanks.
Another $2,000 will go to farms that warm their milk before it goes to waste.
USDA will cover up to $10,000 in veterinary costs for farms where cattle test positive for H5N1 and the cost of shipping samples to laboratories in the National Animal Health Laboratory Network.
The government said it would pay compensation to farmers who lost milk if a cow fell ill.
The National Milk Producers Federation expressed that it was pleased to provide additional financial support to dairy farmers.
“We look forward to continued collaboration and consultation with USDA and other federal agencies as we monitor, understand and contain this outbreak, and we will do what we can to help and benefit dairy farmers as rapid implementation begins,” the group said in a statement.
In addition, HHS will send an additional $101 million in funding to the CDC and the US Food and Drug Administration to support their H5N1 response efforts.
“We have identified 93 million that will be used by CDC to monitor people at risk, increase our testing and analysis capabilities, determine the effectiveness of candidate vaccines, and manufacture, store, and distribute additional influenza testing. Kits,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Becerra said another $8 million will be provided to the FDA to support the agency's oversight of various areas of the milk production system.