The storm interfered with navigational systems used in tractors and other farming equipment, leaving some farmers temporarily unable to plant their crops.
The Food and Drug Administration said regulators had examined 201 commercial dairy samples, including milk, cottage cheese and sour cream, and had so far not found evidence that potentially infectious virus was on grocery shelves.
The C.D.C. maintained Wednesday that the risk for the public was still low, with no changes in the genetic makeup of the virus that would allow it to spread more easily to or between humans.
The U.S.D.A. announced last month that dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas had tested positive for the bird flu virus, called H5N1. It has since reported cases in dozens of herds in eight states.
Scientists say that the presence of viral fragments in milk, which is pasteurized, isnβt cause for alarm, but that the bigger problem is the ongoing uncertainty about the size and scope of the outbreak.
H5N1, an avian flu virus, has killed tens of thousands of marine mammals, and infiltrated American livestock for the first time. Scientists are working quickly to assess how it is evolving and how much of a risk it poses to humans.
Some poultry growers are turning to innovative tactics to protect their flocks, deploying deterrents like drones, air horns, balloons and decoy predators.
Some poultry growers are turning to innovative tactics to protect their flocks, deploying deterrents like drones, air horns, balloons and decoy predators.
So far, bird flu in cattle seems to affect only lactating cows, and only temporarily. There have been no diagnoses in calves, pregnant heifers or beef cows, and no deaths.
The disaster, intensified by El NiΓ±o, is devastating communities across several countries, killing crops and livestock and sending food prices soaring.
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