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THE bird flu virus that is spreading in US dairy cows may be better at infecting humans than other circulating strains of the virus, scientists have warned. The H5N1 virus, typically found in birds, has been confirmed in cows on 140 farms in 12 states, with traces also being found in pasteurised milk sold on supermarket shelves. 4 Bird flu has been spreading among dairy cows in the US Credit: Getty 4 How infected chicken pass the virus on to humans It's thought the outbreak began when cows on a Texas farm contracted the virus from wild birds.

At least four people working closely with the animals have caught the bug, though their symptoms were mild and they did not pass the virus on to others. New research from scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US shows the new cow virus can bind to receptors on the cells in the human respiratory tract. These receptors are how flu viruses typically enter and infect human cells.



The version of H5N1 found in birds cannot do that, suggesting the bovine virus has mutated. The study also confirmed that the virus can be transmitted efficiently through contaminated milk. Milk from an infected cow in New Mexico made both mice and ferrets sick after they consumed as little as a single drop.

Further tests on ferrets however revealed the virus could not spread as effectively through simply breathing. Most read in Health ON HIS WAY Rangers star set to sign for Scottish Premiership rivals CROSSING THE DIVIDE Celtic hero Scott Brown s.

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