We are fortunate that our state’s dairy herds remain free of illness from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). To date 616 dairy herds in 15 states across the country have been affected. This pathogen has caused a great deal of illness and financial loss to the dairy industry. California now has more than half of the HPAI herds in our nation’s outbreak. The magnitude of the CA outbreak is a good example of how quickly this disease can spread in an area where dairy farms are concentrated, as is the case in many areas of NY. Managing the movement of lactating cattle and strict biosecurity protocols for employees and outside vendors are critical to minimizing the transmission of disease. Raw milk remains the best sample for influenza testing as affected cows shed high numbers of viral particles in their milk. Several affected states instituted bulk milk testing and USDA recently announced their plan to test bulk milk to better understand the prevalence of H5N1 nationally. Since the start of the outbreak in dairy cattle, 32 flocks consisting of over 20 million birds have been depopulated from infections with the dairy cattle strain of HPAI (H5N1 strain B3.13). Diligent biosecurity in the dairy industry is critical to the safety of our nation’s poultry flocks. The Influenza A virus is known to occasionally infect humans, particularly those exposed to high levels of the virus. Because of this, those individuals working closely with potentially infected animals and raw milk from those animals, should take extra precautions to limit their exposure. It is important to keep a bigger global health perspective in mind about Influenza A. This virus infects and replicates in many animal hosts. Influenza viruses are prone to mutation each time they replicate, creating an opportunity for the virus to develop a strain that can more easily infect humans and spread from person to person. Thankfully, this has not happened yet.