A new strain of bird flu has been detected in dairy cattle in the US, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) identified the new strain in dairy cows in Nevada as part of its national milk testing strategy.

This is the first detection of this virus genotype (D1.1) in dairy cattle. All previous detections in dairy cattle have been highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, genotype B3.13.

“Genotype D1.1 represents the predominant genotype in the North American flyways this winter and has been identified in wild birds, mammals and spillovers into domestic poultry,” the USDA said.

USDA APHIS said it is working with the Nevada Department of Agriculture by conducting additional on-farm investigation, testing and gathering additional epidemiological information to better understand this detection and limit further disease spread.

“The detection does not change USDA’s HPAI eradication strategy and is a testament to the strength of our national milk testing strategy.

“In the interest of sharing information of importance to the scientific community, APHIS will publish a technical brief on the findings on our website and post the sequence data on GenBank in the coming week,” it said.