The finding comes as authorities are still identifying new infected herds in this year’s unprecedented outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in dairy cattle.
Infections have been detected in cows across farms in at least a dozen states, with most of the positive tests coming from raw milk samples that were teeming with the virus. Authorities have called on states to curb raw milk sales that could spread the virus, and have warned consumers against drinking raw milk.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is tracking the new COVID variant KP.3 as data shows its dominance across the United States.
“CDC is tracking SARS-CoV-2 variant KP.3. For the two-week period ending on June 8, 2024, CDC predicts that KP.3 is growing and will become the most common SARS-CoV-2 lineage nationally,” CDC Spokesperson, Rosa Norman, said in a statement to USA TODAY. “(Our agency) is working to better understand its potential impact on public health.”
For the two-week period starting on May 26 and ending on June 8, the government agency data shows that KP.3 accounts for 25% of COVID cases in the U.S. and is now the dominant variant. This knocks down previous frontrunner, the JN.1 variant, which spread globally last winter. KP.2 is right after KP.3 and now makes up 22.5% of cases.