Alarming Virus Evolution – Scientists Identify First-Ever Mammal-to-Human Bird Flu Case

The Biological Threat Research Laboratory (BTRL) at Texas Tech University was instrumental in identifying the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A (H5N1) being transmitted from a mammal (dairy cow) to a human.

The case was made public in an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Steve Presley, the director of The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH) and the BTRL, and Cynthia Reinoso Webb, the biological threat coordinator at TIEHH, were co-authors on the journal publication.