Dairy cows in Kansas and Texas have tested positive for bird flu — a development experts are calling “highly concerning” and “disturbing.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed last week that milk from afflicted cattle from two farms in Kansas and one in Texas tested positive for avian influenza. Wild birds present at the dairy farms are the source of infections, according to the USDA.
The discovery came after the USDA began investigating reports of a “mystery cow disease” among older dairy cows in Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico. “For the dairies whose herds are exhibiting symptoms, on average about ten percent of each affected herd appears to be impacted, with little to no associated mortality reported among the animals,” the USDA said in a statement.