As bird flu spreads in cows, here are 4 big questions scientists are trying to answer
On Friday, Colorado became the latest state to detect the bird flu virus spreading in dairy cattle. It follows revelations earlier in the week that viral fragments are turning up in retail milk.
Still, scientists don't view this as an immediate threat to human health.
Genetic material is not the same as infectious virus and pasteurization is expected to inactivate the virus in milk, but the findings speak to the broader uncertainty about the extent of the spread.
"There's so many critical things that we still need to know to get a better perspective on how bad this is, or maybe it's not so bad," says Dr. Rick Bright, a virologist and the former head of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Federal health agencies started sharing more details publicly this week, but Bright says there's still not enough transparency.
"It's the void that just leaves everyone nervous," he says
Other scientists say the reality is that there are still many unresolved questions about this outbreak, given how novel it is.
"There's a couple big unknowns at this point," says
