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US undercounts bird flu in cattle as farmers shun testing

Farmers fear economic losses from positive tests, leading to under-reporting; USDA offers partial compensation

The U.S. bird-flu outbreak in dairy cattle is much larger than official figures suggest due to farmers' reluctance to test their animals and risk the economic consequences of a positive result, according to Reuters interviews with dairy experts, veterinarians, and farmers in six states with known cases.






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