In the last 30 days, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or H5N1, in:
- 47 cases in poultry in 13 states.
- Two cases in livestock in two states.
To date, there have been no H5N1 detections in livestock other than poultry in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin and the National Milk Testing Strategy
With help from industry partners, Wisconsin is sampling milk at the farm level for the mandatory USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS) with the goal of testing each farm approximately every month. DATCP expects to continue to be able to utilize samples that are already collected for routine milk testing to streamline the testing process.
Wisconsin has achieved unaffected Gold Status under the USDA APHIS NMTS. As of October 1, Wisconsin transitioned to 50% reduced testing frequency while maintaining the state’s commitment to ongoing surveillance pursuant to the NMTS. DATCP expects to continue to be able to utilize milk samples through existing, routine sampling.
Access the updated October 5-11, 2025 milk testing numbers on DATCP’s website. To date, more than 20,000 milk samples have been tested as part of the NMTS. H5N1 has not been detected in any of the PCR samples. These tests represent nearly all licensed dairies in Wisconsin, with remaining verifications underway to ensure complete statewide reach. The DATCP H5N1 in Dairy Cattle webpage will continue to be updated weekly as the testing continues.
