Without a sharp pivot in state and federal policies, the bird flu virus that has bedeviled American farms is likely to find a firm foothold among dairy cattle, scientists are warning.
So far, this virus, H5N1, does not easily infect humans, and the risk to the public remains low. But the longer the virus circulates in cattle, the more chances it gains to acquire the mutations necessary to set off an influenza pandemic.
I think the window is closing on our ability to contain the outbreak, said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious-disease physician who worked at the World Health Organization until April.
Half a year into the outbreak, H5N1 shows no signs of receding in U.S. dairy cattle or in the workers who tend them.
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