avian flu

Understanding the Threat of Bird Flu

Since 2022, a new, highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 influenza or “bird flu” has spread worldwide. In the U.S. it has affected over 100 million birds and for the first time, spread into dairy cows and a small, but growing, number of people. At UC Davis, experts in One Health — an approach that considers the health of people, animals and the environment together — are on high alert.

Nothing but death

Dead silence met Marcela Uhart and her team when they arrived at the elephant seal colony at Punta Delgada, Patagonia on Oct. 10, 2023.

How Bird Flu Virus Fragments Get into Milk Sold in Stores, and What the Spread of H5N1 in Cows Means for the Dairy Industry and Milk Drinkers

The discovery of fragments of avian flu virus in milk sold in U.S. stores, including in about 20% of samples in initial testing across the country, suggests that the H5N1 virus may be more widespread in dairy cattle than previously realized.