These are the bird flu questions that influenza and animal scientists desperately want answered Helen Branswell By Helen Branswell June 5, 2024

https://www.statnews.com/2024/06/05/bird-flu-h5n1-in-cows-scientists-top-questions/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8qHuhIIrvPsiuZl7otncruyznKM7iBTGMjCrFkx5RzI-P6uqbyPWxnOPj7h-ppEvczuY_lAUOSeyf4eKcZi_cNEO96HQ&_hsmi=310188054&utm_content=310188054&utm_source=hs_email It takes time at the start of an infectious disease outbreak for evidence of what’s going on to come to light. But in the 10 weeks since the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in dairy cows was first identified, farmers’ reluctance to reveal what’s happening in their herds has left more questions unanswered than usual. STAT’s Helen Branswell reached out to influenza virologists and veterinarians to ask them what they would most like answered at this point. Their answers fell into three buckets: What’s happening in cows? What’s happening with farmworkers? And what’s happening with the virus? The biggest group of questions was about transmission in cows — how it’s happening, and what techniques might stop its spread. Virologist Richard Webby asked a key question: Can cows that have been infected once be reinfected down the road? The answer to that may tell us if driving the virus out of cattle is a viable possibility. Read more.