Get the latest tech news

No One Knows How Far Bird Flu Has Spread


With little incentive for US farmers to test their cattle, and many undocumented laborers on dairy farms, the full scale of the outbreak is unclear.

“There’s an inherent disincentive that many of the workers, because of their status as undocumented immigrants, are not raising their hands.” The result, Lawler says, is that it’s difficult for scientists to track any possible spread of the virus through humans. The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service specifically provides payments for poultry farmers who have to kill their livestock due to bird flu infections. Dairy farmers don’t get compensated for reporting infections, which incentivizes producers to keep quiet, upping the risk that outbreaks get out of hand and spread to other cattle or farm workers.

Get the Android app

Or read this on Wired

Read more on:

Photo of bird flu

bird flu

Related news:

News photo

The U.S. may be missing human cases of bird flu, scientists say

News photo

Getting worried about bird flu

News photo

Bird Flu Is Spreading in Alarming New Ways