A highly pathogenic version of avian influenza virus, commonly referred to as bird flu, was detected in wild birds in the United States in early 2022. In spring 2024, multiple states, including Colorado, began reporting outbreaks in dairy cattle, a concerning development because the virus was circulating in a new species.

Testing is critical to controlling spread of the virus, and Colorado State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, or VDL, is playing a key role, regularly testing samples from birds, cattle and other species. Understanding how disease is affecting wild and domestic animals is a mission of the lab in Fort Collins, and that information is essential for animal and public health officials, food-animal producers and others to respond effectively to halt the spread of disease and curb potential impacts to human health.

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