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By the end of 2023, the bird flu virus jumped to cattle in the USA. It is now clear how the first cow became infected.
By the end of 2023, the bird flu virus jumped to cattle for the first time in the United States, causing a widespread outbreak. Scientists puzzled over what had happened for a long time. Now, there are answers.
It may have started with a single contact between infected wild birds and dairy cows: the unprecedented spread of bird flu in American dairy herds. This is the conclusion of a US study published in the journal Science. According to the scientists, the event occurred in Texas at the end of 2023. Different virus strains must have mixed in wild birds before the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) of subtype H5N1 could suddenly infect cattle. The first case in dairy cows in Texas was officially confirmed in March 2024.
The study tracks the development of bird flu using genetic sequence data. After the initial event, the viruses spread in the United States through asymptomatic or presymptomatic animals from Texas to other states and were then transmitted from dairy cows to other hosts, such as humans. Currently, there are over 1,000 cases in 17 US states. Since the viruses have the potential to jump to humans, the virus strains, mutations, and transmission routes are closely monitored.
