To date, 169 dairy herds have been affected by avian influenza in the U.S.  Photo: Thinkstock

Light shed on bird flu spread in mammals

Researchers from Cornell University have determined how cows infected with H5N1 bird flu were able to spread the virus to other cows and mammals. In the study published in the journal Nature on July 24, scientists used genomic data, computer modeling, and data about the virus’s spread to show how infected cows from Texas spread bird flu […] Read more







 Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File

Explainer: How U.S. states are testing for bird flu

States in the U.S. are playing a key role in the nation's response to a growing outbreak of avian flu among dairy cattle that has also infected a small number of humans. The states are chiefly responsible for testing cows and people for the virus, but they take different approaches. Scientists tracking bird flu are increasingly concerned that current surveillance efforts are not sufficient.