Here's what worries scientists about bird flu's spread among cattle
Avian influenza is still spreading among dairy cattle. Scientists are paying close attention to how the virus is changing and what that means for its pandemic potential.
The outbreak of bird flu in dairy cattle is still unfolding.
On Wednesday, North Carolina became the seventh state to detect the virus in a dairy herd.
The unlikely spread among cattle and one dairy worker has scientists looking through the data to better understand this spillover. They say the risk to humans hinges on whether the virus can evolve in key ways to better infect mammals.
So far, there's some reassuring news: At a recent meeting, scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the virus is not presenting like a respiratory illness in cattle – meaning the animals don't appear to be shedding large amounts of virus from their nose or mouths.
Instead, federal health officials investigating the
