The outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu among the nation’s dairy cows is creeping closer to Utah as a herd in southern Idaho was confirmed last week to have the virus.
The Idaho State Department of Agriculture said the affected farm in Cassia County had imported cattle from another state previously identified as having the virus, suggesting that the strain could be transmitted “cow-to-cow.” Previously, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suspected that infected herds in other states, such as Texas and Kansas, were exposed to the virus from dead migratory birds that contaminated the farms.