CDC Warns of Cow-to-Human Transmission of H5N1 Bird Flu in Texas

A Texas farm worker contracted H5N1 from dairy cattle, indicating a new route of transmission for the virus, which has a high mortality rate and diverse symptoms in humans.

The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health alert after the first case of H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu, seemingly spread from a cow to a human.

A farm worker in Texas contracted the virus amid an outbreak in dairy cattle. This is the second human case in the US; a poultry worker tested positive in Colorado in 2022.