Study: Bird Flu in Dairy Cows May Spread More Easily to Other Mammals

Certain characteristics of the highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1), or H5N1 bird flu, in dairy cows may make it easier to transmit the virus to other mammals, according to an unedited study in Nature. Specifically, the researchers found that the bovine H5N1 virus can bind to avian and human cell receptors, an anomaly not found in previous H5N1 viruses, the researchers wrote.