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The Biden administration has announced that it will provide around $200 million to fight the spread of avian flu (HN51) among dairy cows. This is the US government’s latest attempt to contain outbreaks of the flu, which have fuelled concerns in the country regarding human infections with the HN51 virus. Scientists think that the outbreak, which has been detected in nine states among dairy cattle since late March, is more widespread than initially perceived. This is due to US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) findings of H5N1 particles in about 20% of retail milk samples. Health experts have cautioned against the consumption of raw milk but said pasteurisation appears to kill the virus. The FDA will donate $8 million to ensure the safety of the commercial milk supply. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it will make $98 million available – providing up to $28,000 per dairy farm – for efforts to contain the spread of the virus between animals and humans and for testing milk and animals for the virus. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it would provide $101 million through the FDA and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect public health and the nation's food supply. This includes $34 million through the CDC for testing efforts and supporting public health labs, $8 million for vaccines and $3 million for wastewater surveillance. According to Reuters, one dairy farm worker in Texas tested positive for the virus and reported conjunctivitis. In April, the USDA started requiring lactating dairy cows to test negative before being shipped across state lines, in order to limit transmission in cattle. In the first week of the order, USDA laboratories reported 905 tests, of which 112 were presumptive positives, a USDA spokesperson told Reuters. The figure could include samples that were tested more than once or those collected for other purposes such as research studies, the spokesperson said.