USDA Adds Guidelines For Cow Handling Thanks To Bird Flu: There are new rules in place for cow handling to keep Americans safe from bird flu. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says any dairy cows transported across state lines must be tested for bird flu. In March, an outbreak of the bird flu was found in herds of dairy cows for the first time and just this week fragments of the virus were found in pasteurized milk samples. Now, the USDA says cows must undergo testing if they're moved to a farm in a new state. So far just one person, a dairy worker in Texas, was infected with a mild case of the virus.