{"id":13002,"date":"2025-10-27T09:39:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T14:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=13002"},"modified":"2025-10-27T09:40:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T14:40:12","slug":"with-milk-testing-and-new-tools-uw-madison-scientists-are-helping-prevent-bird-flu-outbreaks-in-wisconsin-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/with-milk-testing-and-new-tools-uw-madison-scientists-are-helping-prevent-bird-flu-outbreaks-in-wisconsin-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"With milk testing and new tools, UW-Madison scientists are helping prevent bird flu outbreaks in Wisconsin and beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:<\/a>
With the help of a robotic liquid handler, UW\u2013Madison researchers at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (WVDL) are testing some 5,000 milk samples per month to monitor and prevent H5N1 bird flu outbreaks in the state\u2019s dairy cattle. Photo: Taylor Wolfram \/ UW\u2013Madison<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a recent Thursday morning, Becky was hard at work at the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison\u2019s Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (WVDL). A few test tubes at a time, hundreds of milk samples were carefully poured, measured and prepared for testing.<\/p>\n

Becky doesn\u2019t wear a typical lab coat or safety glasses. Why? Because Becky is a Biomek i5 \u2014 that is, a robot.<\/p>\n

The automated but closely supervised liquid handler helps streamline and enhance laboratory workflows. And its efficiency is among the reasons that WVDL has emerged as a national leader in the response to H5N1 avian influenza on dairy farms.<\/p>\n

Each month, WVDL tests at least one milk sample from every dairy farm in Wisconsin. WVDL\u2019s scientists receive, process, prepare, test and log about 5,000 milk samples per month \u2014 all to help prevent an H5N1 outbreak among Wisconsin dairy cattle. The spread of H5N1 would have a potentially significant consequence: the more the virus circulates, the greater the chance new, more dangerous strains could emerge \u2014 strains capable of causing severe illness and death across multiple species, including humans. UW\u2013Madison experts say the risk of this is currently low.<\/p>\n

The sizable effort is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s National Milk Testing Strategy, which launched in December 2024 after the bird flu was detected in dairy cattle in some states. The program\u2019s goal is \u201cto go from unknown prevalence to disease freedom across the country,\u201d says Keith Poulsen, director of WVDL and a faculty member at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM).<\/p>\n

A\u00a0federal order<\/a>\u00a0bolstering the testing strategy mandates that herd owners with H5N1-positive cattle must submit data to support contact tracing and disease surveillance. It also requires dairy farms and entities handling milk for pasteurization to provide raw milk samples for testing. WVDL, which is\u00a0designated a Level 1 National Animal Health Laboratory Network lab<\/a>, plays a primary role in that testing.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Technicians
Specimen receiving team lead Asia Johnson (left) and student technician Maddie Myrick load milk samples into a transport box. Each month, WVDL tests at least one milk sample from every dairy farm in Wisconsin.\u00a0Photo: Taylor Wolfram \/ UW\u2013Madison<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The process is time- and labor-intensive. After Becky has prepared the milk samples \u2014 which takes 45 minutes to an hour for 96 samples \u2014 they are transported to the WVDL\u2019s virology section for testing. Over the course of several hours, microbiologists prepare and perform two types of tests: a PCR test, which searches for active infections, and an ELISA antibody test, which looks for evidence of prior infection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s on a single dairy farm or throughout an entire state, the most important part of managing any infectious disease \u2014 whether it\u2019s COVID-19, brucellosis, foot-and-mouth disease, or H5N1 \u2014 is that you know where the virus is, and more importantly, where the virus is not,\u201d says Poulsen, adding that surveillance allows for the preservation of public health resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe milk testing strategy is working,\u201d he adds. \u201cTesting has already identified a new H5N1 strain in the Southwest and continues to catch emerging infections in other states.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, avian flu has not been detected among Wisconsin dairy cattle.<\/p>\n

\n
\"A
Marulasiddappa Suresh (above) and Yoshihiro Kawaoka, professors of pathobiological sciences, are working to develop a universal influenza vaccine to protect dairy cattle against H5N1.\u00a0Photo: Seth Moffitt \/ School of Veterinary Medicine<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Tools to fight the virus<\/h2>\n

Researchers at the SVM are on the front lines of understanding H5N1 and developing tools to fight the virus.<\/p>\n

H5N1 appears to spread among dairy cows not through the upper respiratory tract, the usual route for flu viruses, but through the udders after cows encounter contaminated milking equipment.<\/p>\n

That presents two challenges to Professors Marulasiddappa Suresh and Yoshihiro Kawaoka, in the school\u2019s Department of Pathobiological Sciences, who are working to develop a universal influenza vaccine to protect cattle against H5N1. Not only do the animals need to be protected against respiratory transmission, but they also need safeguards against infection via their mammary glands \u2014 something that\u2019s never been done before, Suresh says. This is especially important because the animals have considerably worse symptoms when they are infected via their udders.<\/p>\n

The scientists are conducting immunogenicity studies, which test to see whether a vaccine candidate stimulates an immune response. Early results have been remarkably promising, says Suresh, who also serves as the school\u2019s associate dean for research and graduate training.<\/p>\n

The researchers have been able to elicit antibodies in both the blood and milk of cows that have received the vaccine. Antibodies help neutralize the virus before it can infect cells. They have also detected a T-cell response in the cows\u2019 blood. T-cells target and kill infected cells.<\/p>\n

The early success leaves Suresh optimistic that a vaccine that provides \u201ctwo-pronged immunity\u201d is possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was an unbelievably successful experiment,\u201d Suresh says. The scientists are currently preparing their work for publication.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Dozens
Although the risk is currently low, if H5N1 were to spread unmonitored in dairy cattle, more dangerous strains could emerge and affect other species.\u00a0Photo: Taylor Wolfram \/ UW\u2013Madison<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Beyond the dairy industry<\/h2>\n

According to Poulsen, the National Milk Testing Strategy also has broader implications beyond the important work of keeping animals and humans healthy \u2014 it also protects the economy and national security.<\/p>\n

Agriculture, including Wisconsin\u2019s dairy industry, is an important source of trade between the United States and other countries, \u201cand our trading partners want to know what\u2019s happening with a globally reportable disease,\u201d Poulsen says.<\/p>\n

Trade, economic, and food supply security are all important facets of national security, he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe testing strategy is a powerful reminder of why taking a holistic view is vital to understanding the importance of public health work,\u201d Poulsen says. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just for dairy farmers. This is about keeping our economy strong and the country safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Written by Jack Kelly<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/news.wisc.edu\/with-milk-testing-and-new-tools-uw-scientists-are-helping-prevent-bird-flu-outbreaks-in-wisconsin-and-beyond\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a recent Thursday morning, Becky was hard at work at the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison\u2019s Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (WVDL). A few test tubes at a time, hundreds of milk samples were carefully poured, measured and prepared for testing. Becky doesn\u2019t wear a typical lab coat or safety glasses. Why? Because Becky is a Biomek […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":13003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[103],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-13002","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-madison"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/13002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13002"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=13002"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwtest.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=13002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}