FDA finding new ways to reach into dairy farms. Cows get BIRD flu? Fragments of virus found in milk, they say. What's next? Mass killing of cows and a shrinking supply of all dairy products?

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[–]weavilsatemyface 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Putting aside the politics here, there is nothing weird about "bird flu" in cows or other mammals.

Bird flu, or "avian flu" (Influenza Virus A, or IVA) is named because its primary hosts are various species of bird. But like other influenza viruses, it can spread to other species. There are four species of influenza virus, named A through D, and thousands of variants and subspecies, with more appearing every year. IVD is not known to cause disease in humans, but the other three IVA, IVB and IVC certainly do. "Swine flu" is mostly variants of IVC and some IVA.

Aside from birds and humans, the various variants of influenza are known to infect cows, horses, dogs, dromedaries (single-humped camels), whales, seals, minks, bats, sheep and goats and likely many others too.

[–]iamonlyoneman 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

this one in particular is weird because of how deadly it is to birds and some lesser mammals, because of how it came to be.