Dr. Nirav Shah

States in the middle of the country, especially Minnesota, have seen a big spike.

As wild birds migrate, they can seed outbreaks on farms.

The virus has not shown up much in dairy cattle in recent months, though scientists say that may be due to lack of testing.

And all of this presents a risk to farm workers.

Dr. Nirav Shah helped lead the bird flu response under President Biden.

Shah says cutbacks in the federal workforce and the government shutdown have put the country in a precarious situation and make it more likely human cases could go undetected.

Meanwhile, farm workers, who are often undocumented, are reluctant to get tested because of the administration's immigration enforcement.

Will Stone, NPR News.