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Bird flu cases may be going undetected in US dairy workers

Ten people in the US have been infected with a strain of bird flu called H5N1, but patchy surveillance means that some cases may be slipping through the cracks

By Grace Wade

15 July 2024

A strain of bird flu has been circulating in dairy cows for almost five months

Lauren Justice/Bloomberg via Getty Images

US health officials are struggling to monitor people who have been exposed to a bird flu virus circulating in dairy cows. The patchy surveillance means infections in people may go undetected, making it difficult to mitigate the virus’s spread. This raises the risk of the pathogen developing mutations that could make it more dangerous to people.

The virus, a strain of avian influenza known as H5N1, has killed millions of birds and thousands of mammals worldwide. It…

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