A flurry of reports about the genetics of the bird flu currently infecting U.S. cattle are offering insight into how the virus has and continues to spread. Since it first emerged in late 2020, this particular type of bird flu has infected a dizzying array of bird species, about 20 mammal species and some people (SN: 3/6/23; SN: 4/3/24). But transmission from cow to cow and from cow to person and other animals is new.
Now researchers tracing the family tree of the H5N1 avian influenza virus say that the outbreak in cattle, first reported in late March, probably started in late December 2023 (SN: 4/25/24). Cases of low
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