Two dozen companies working to find bird flu vaccine for cows, U.S. agriculture secretary says | 12 June 2024 | Twenty-four companies are working to develop an avian flu vaccine for cattle, as the virus spreads among U.S. dairy herds, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters on Wednesday. Bird flu has infected 90 dairy herds across 12 states since late March, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Three dairy farm workers also have been infected with the virus, two in Michigan and one in Texas. In addition to the two dozen companies working at varying stages of vaccine development, the USDA is conducting its own preliminary research into a vaccine at its laboratory in Ames, Iowa, Vilsack said in an interview. [A vaccine in search of a new (lab-genearted) pandemic.]