A bird flu outbreak is spreading among cows in the US. Scientists are hunting for answers

At first glance, it looks like an unassuming Iowa farm. But the people who work there are not farmers, and the buildings look more like what you’d find at a modern university than in a cow pasture. The National Animal Disease Center in Ames is the place where scientists are pushing to solve the bird flu outbreak currently spreading through U.S. animals — and develop ways to stop it. After the H5N1 bird flu unexpectedly jumped into U.S. dairy cows, they quickly got to work and began testing a new cow vaccine in June. They hope to reduce the risk that bird flu will someday become a widespread disease in people.