... the Trump administration has blocked the release of some of the information used to protect against H5N1 and understand this risk, including studies that show how frequently veterinarians who treat cows had been unknowingly infected.
Although many of the infections have been mild, emerging data indicate that variants of the avian influenza virus H5N1 that are spreading in North America can cause severe disease and death, especially when passed directly to humans from birds. The virus is also adapting to new hosts — cows and other mammals — raising the risk that it could spark a human pandemic.
...Health experts around the world have for months been urging US authorities to increase surveillance and share more information about its bird flu outbreak after the virus started spreading among dairy cows for the first time. ...
Tom Peacock, a virologist at the Imperial College London, said he thought "the biggest error the US has made is its slow and weak response to the cattle outbreak"
...public health experts say they are worried the virus could mutate and become more transmissible, amplifying the need to ramp up testing and to stockpile vaccines.
