Alarm as bird flu now ‘endemic in cows’ while Trump cuts staff and funding

Experts say current US outbreak is unlikely to end without intervention with further mutation of virus likely

A newer variant of H5N1 bird flu has spilled over into dairy cows separately in Nevada and Arizona, prompting new theories about how the virus is spread and leading to questions about containing the ongoing outbreaks.

The news comes amid a purge of experts at federal agencies, including employees who were responding to the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of Agriculture.

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