by A second type of bird flu has been detected under dairy cows in the United States, the US Department of Agriculture has reported inspection service from Animal and Plant Health (APHIS).
A wide subtype of bird flu called H5N1 has been circulating under American dairy cows since at least 2024. The first cases were detected in cattle in March last yearAnd since then, almost 960 herds have been hit throughout the country. According to the last songs that are available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Website.
The H5N1 virus has a complex pedigree and cows in the US have so far been contaminated by a branch of that tree known as the B3.13 Genotype of Clade 2.3.4.4B. In the meantime, another genotype, called the D1.1 Genotype, has spread in wild birds and poultry in the US and Canada.
Just like B3.13, the D1.1 -Genotype also has infected people. For example, it has recently been infected poultry employees in the state of Washingtonwho had mild cases, and one Teen in British Columbiawho had a serious case that intensive care required. Moreover, a person in Louisiana has one serious case of D1.1 that was ultimately fatal.
Now, in a scoop, this D1.1 -Genotype is detected in dairy cows in Nevada, Aphis said in a Statement released Wednesday (February 5).
Related: How you can prevent bird flu
“This is the first detection of this virus genotype for dairy cattle,” said Aphis representatives in the statement. “Genotype D1.1 represents the dominant genotype in the North -American flyways last fall and winter and is identified in wild birds, mammals and overflow in household poultry.” (Flyways are regularly used by large numbers of migrating birds.)
The statement noted that “this confirmation was the result of the tracing and investigation of the state, after a first detection on Silo tests under the National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS) of the USDA in Nevada.”
The USDA has been Testing samples of raw milk from dairy farms To follow the spread of bird flu. The testing is performed on milk that has not yet been pasteurized because pasteurization inactivates the virus. From mid -January, 36 states were registered In the program, about two -thirds of the commercial milk supply of the nation cover.
The USDA now works with the Nevada Department of Agriculture to perform additional tests on the affected farm and to take measures to prevent further spread of the virus.
“We should not be surprised by a new overflow of cattle, given the very important activity in water birds in a large part of the United States,” Michael Osterholmsaid an epidemiologist from the University of Minnesota and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), in a Article published by the news arm of the center. The virus does not go away, he added.
