USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Force in Play

Tracking 1,222 infected dairy herds in 21 states; cattle vaccine not licensed

In March 2024, H5N1 avian influenza appeared in U.S. dairy cattle for the first time. It has since infected 1,222 herds in 21 states and 71 people, and three of those people have died.

Updated Nov 3

Force in Play

Running quarantine and sterile-fly release while reopening southern ports in phases; Nogales, Arizona, is set for November 30

Mexican cattle began crossing at Columbus, New Mexico, on October 26, ending a closure of nearly two years at a port that normally handles about a third of US cattle imports from Mexico. The same week, the USDA confirmed screwworm in a dog in Arizona and reported 71 US cases since June, 18 of them still active.

Updated Oct 30

Rule Changes

As of September 2026: Coordinates national spotted lanternfly response

Massachusetts is asking residents to kill an invasive sap-feeding insect now confirmed in more than 145 of the state's 351 cities and towns. The spotted lanternfly, native to Asia, arrived in the U.S. in 2014 and reached Massachusetts in 2021.

Updated Sep 9