US cases of avian flu in cattle are causing concern. How prepared is Europe for the bird flu threat?
Scientists are raising the alarm about US cases of H5N1 in cows as transmission to humans is easier. Here in Europe, steps are being taken to prepare.
A strain of bird flu that jumped to dairy cows and then farmworkers in the US this spring could become a global health risk – but the extent of the threat is unknown and officials in Europe and elsewhere could be caught unprepared if it escalates.
The US cases are the latest upswell of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) that has been circulating among migratory birds and mammals in recent years, mostly in Europe and the Americas.
Since March, the strain has cropped up in 145 cattle herds in 12 US states and infected four dairy workers, all of whom went on to recover from their illnesses.
