Cornell virology experts are sequencing the bird flu virus that struck cows in the Texas panhandle last week, after work at Cornell and two other veterinary diagnostic laboratories found the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus in cattle samples, a first for this species.
Sequencing of the virus may help scientists understand why it jumped to cows and how future outbreaks may be prevented.
“When there is spillover of HPAI to a new species, especially to mammals, it is always concerning, as the virus may adapt and gain the ability to transmit between animals,” said Dr. Diego Diel, associate professor of virology in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences and director of the Virology Laboratory at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC).
HPAI is well-known for its ability to infect various animal species. It is fatal among birds, where it attacks the gastrointestinal tract and the nervous system. Since 2022, the HPAI outbreak has killed millions of commercial poultry and wild birds, and the virus has been detected in many wild carnivores such as foxes that feed on carcasses of dead birds and often suffer the same fate.
Currently there is no evidence that these mammalian species can transmit the virus to other animals, but its detection in ruminants is new. The USDA recently reported HPAI in a juvenile goat, but there were no previous reports of infection in cattle.