Scientists are sounding alarms about a genetic mutation that was recently identified in four dairy cow herds, nearly one year after H5N1 bird flu was first reported in Texas dairy cattle.

The ongoing bird flu outbreak has led to wild bird deaths, slaughtered livestock, and hazardous conditions for dairy industry workers.

A new H5N1 bird flu mutation has appeared in a cluster of infected dairy cows. It's a genetic change that scientists say could not only make the virus more lethal, but increase its spread between mammals and possibly humans.

H5N1, which was first detected in 1996 in China and was found in the United States in 2022, has affected 160 million poultry across the nation. In Michigan, it's also been found in red foxes, possums, racoons, coyotes, dairy cattle and two humans.

No new human cases of avian influenza have been reported, and poultry infections are low so far in March. But infections in cats are continuing, and new research is raising concerns about the virus

While the ongoing H5N1 outbreak has affected the United States, it is good to know what the avian flu is and how the virus can hit cats.