AUSTIN, Texas — Microbiologists say that the recent discovery that avian flu has spread from birds to cattle came as a surprise. Texas was one of the first states to report that H5N1 had spread to dairy cattle in the state.
Last week, Texas health officials confirmed that avian flu spread to a farm worker in Texas who tended to cattle. Although there’s been no indication that avian flu can spread from person to person, just in case the virus mutates, researchers are preparing.
The Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) in San Antonio recently received U.S. government approval to begin looking into developing potential vaccines and antivirals that could combat avian influenza.
“I think there is no cause for immediate alarm here. We’ve been tracking this virus," Dr. Larry Schlesinger, president and CEO of Texas Biomed, said. “But the future could indicate that the virus could continue to change in a way that might cause it to be more of a problem in humans. And we have to be highly vigilant on this particular strain of virus.”
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Schlesinger said there’s no reason for undue concern that the flu will become commonplace among humans. But he said it’s important for biomedical researchers to investigate developing a vaccine, just in case.
On Thursday, South Dakota became the eighth state to confirm that a type of the virus labeled H5N1 was found in dairy cattle. North Carolina reported Wednesday that the same virus made its way to some dairy cattle there.