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News that H5N1 avian influenza has breached another mammalian species — this time dairy cows — has taken the flu science community aback. Though cows previously had been seen to be susceptible to human flu viruses, and could be experimentally infected with H5 in a lab, the absence of cow involvement until now in H5’s nearly 30-year history lulled scientists into thinking the species was outside the virus’s remit. Further elevating the concern this discovery has triggered is the fact that a dairy farm worker in Texas was infected with H5N1, though the unnamed individual’s only symptom was conjunctivitis. (Branswell, 4/5)

The spread of bird flu to an increasing number of species and its widening geographic reach have raised the risks of humans being infected by the virus, the head of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Thursday. Monique Eloit's comments come after the U.S. government reported cases of the disease in dairy cows in several states and a person in Texas, which she said would only be a strong concern if there had been a transmission between cows, something the U.S. authorities are still investigating. (De La Hamaide, 4/4)

Bird flu has infected a dairy herd in Ohio for the first time and was detected in additional herds in Kansas and New Mexico, according to the U.S. government, expanding an outbreak in cows that has raised concerns about possible risks to humans. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed infections in herds across six states since it first reported cases in Texas and Kansas on March 25. (Polansek, 4/4)

The first human case of avian influenza in Texas this week has prompted Congress to gather information about the risks to public health and agriculture. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a bipartisan briefing with congressional agriculture staff about the person infected after exposure to infected dairy cattle, according to a congressional aide. And members of Congress plan to schedule a meeting with the Agriculture Department, which announced last month that “there is no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health.” (Bridges, 4/4)

Has bird flu already killed hundreds, if not thousands of penguins in Antarctica? That's what researchers are seeking to find out after a scientific expedition last month found at least 532 dead Adelie penguins, with thousands more thought to have died, according to a statement from Federation University Australia. While the researchers suspect the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus killed the penguins, the field tests were inconclusive, the university said. (Spring, 4/4)