As of this writing, six dairy herds in Nevada have tested positive, with the more serious variant of bird flu. This version was the same subtype that caused the death of the man in Louisiana that lost his life. He handled dead birds on his property.
It is also the same version (D1.1) that affected the young woman in Canada, who is recovering after being critically ill and on ECMO.
ECMO stands for Extra Corporial Membrane Oxygenation. It is a life-saving medical technology that provides temporary support to the heart and lungs when they are unable to function adequately. It acts as a heart-lung bypass machine, taking over the functions of these organs until they can recover or a permanent solution, such as a heart or lung transplant, is available. The patient is currently off ECMO
The bird flu found in the othe 750 dairy farms in 16 states was a more benign version of the virus, called B3.13. That more benign version was transmitted to humans but did not cause serious illness.
That the virus is passed from birds to cattle, and then cattle to cattle is evidence that this virus is epidemic for animals. The more virus that is out there the more concern that the virus might mutate to where it can be transmitted from human to human.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic
The 1918 Influenza pandemic which infected was responsible for the deaths of about 50-100 million people world wide, probably began as an avian influenza virus. I will explain below: