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Just in time for county fair season, there are new testing requirements for those hoping to show dairy cows in Minnesota.

All dairy cows currently producing milk must have both a negative H5N1 test result and Certificate of Veterinary Inspection to attend any exhibition in Minnesota effective Tuesday, June 18.

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced this new testing requirement for lactating dairy cows on Thursday, June 13. The requirements are effective until Dec. 31, 2024.

鈥淲hile H5N1 influenza in dairy cases are still being studied across the country, initial insights show milk and the udders are a hotspot for influenza virus on infected cows, which makes showing lactating dairy at events a higher risk,鈥� said Senior Veterinarian of Cattle Programs, Dr. Katie Cornille in a news release. 鈥淩equiring a negative test before an exhibition reduces that risk.鈥�

A veterinarian must oversee or collect samples from each animal traveling to the exhibition within seven days before arriving at the event. Samples must be sent to a National Animal Health Laboratory Network Laboratory like the University of Minnesota鈥檚 Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in St. Paul. Once a negative result is received for an animal, it can move within Minnesota for 10 days from the sample collection date to locations specified on the Certificate of Veterinary Inspection.

, the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab will notify the Board of the results and the Board will contact the producer to quarantine the cows and begin a disease investigation. While this is happening the samples are forwarded to the USDA鈥檚 National Veterinary Services Laboratories for official confirmation, which is necessary for the owner to apply for any federal financial reimbursement. All results are confidential, and the Board will only report the county where a case is detected. Lactating dairy cows on the premises are under a 30-day quarantine. The Board can release the quarantine after a minimum of 30 days and a negative H5N1 milk test.

Livestock owners can find additional . The Board has recommendations available for exhibition managers to . You can .

The H5N1 spread reached Minnesota this month when a confirmed case was reported in a a week ago on Thursday, June 6.

The H5N1 virus has been reported in 94 dairy herds across 12 states since late March, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Further spread of H5N1 among U.S. dairy herds presents additional opportunities for human infections, federal officials told Reuters on Thursday while urging farms to take enhanced biosecurity measures to contain the virus.

The spread among dairy farms is likely occurring from animal movement, shared personnel, and vehicles and equipment that travel between farms, Kammy Johnson, a veterinary epidemiologist with the USDA said on the call with Reuters.

Wild birds, an early vector of the virus, do not appear to be spreading the virus from herd to herd or to poultry farms, a released on Thursday found.