Dairy cows in Nevada have been infected with a new form of bird flu that is distinct from the version that has been spreading through herds over the last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The finding indicates that the virus, known as H5N1, has spilled from birds into cows at least twice \u2014 leading to these two sets of infections \u2014 and that it could continue to do so. It also suggests that the virus may pose a persistent risk to cows and to the people who work closely with them.<\/p>\n

Before last year, scientists did not know that cows were susceptible to this type of influenza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not what anyone wanted to see,\u201d said Louise Moncla, an evolutionary biologist who studies avian influenza at the University of Pennsylvania. \u201cWe need to now consider the possibility that cows are more broadly susceptible to these viruses than we initially thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

The news was announced in a news release from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a division of the Department of Agriculture. Federal agencies have not held a news briefing on bird flu since President Trump took office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n