In the United States, livestock are suffering from two versions of avian influenza. The second of them, D1.1, was contracted by cows in Nevada. Doctors fear that there may be an outbreak among humans.
In Nevada, cows fell ill with bird flu, according to a UNN correspondent , citing The New York Times.
Moreover, the livestock was infected with a new form of the disease. It differs from the version that was spread in herds over the past year. This is stated in a press release from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a division of the US Department of Agriculture.
Experts note that the virus known as H5N1 has been transmitted from birds to cows at least twice recently, which led to these two groups of infections. Thus, the first time the virus, version B3.13, infected 950 herds in 16 states. The first cases were reported in Texas.
The second type of infection, D1.1, was found in milk collected from a silo as part of a national milk testing strategy announced by the U.S.D.A. late last year.
It infected livestock in Nevada. As you know, the D1.1 H5N1 form has already claimed the life of one person. In January, an elderly man died from it.
He was a Louisiana resident over 65 years old. He took care of sick and dying birds and died in early January.
In November 2024, a 13-year-old Canadian girl also contracted the D1.1 virus, but it is unclear where she could have gotten it. Her only risk factor was obesity.
She was put on life support due to organ failure. She later recovered. It is also important to note that scientists did not know that cows could be infected with bird flu until 2024.
Doctors fear that there will be an outbreak of this infection among people.
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