Dairy cattle movement networks govern the spread and persistence of H5N1 B3.13 in the United States

Live cattle movement is the predominant driver of H5N1 genotype B3.13 spatial spread in U.S. dairy cattle, with >40% of interstate transmissions occurring before first detection.

• Why it matters: Rapid spread in domestic mammals creates a major gap in understanding whether cattle networks or bird reservoirs govern dissemination, and how timing of restrictions affects persistence.
• What they did: The team combined H5N1 genomic phylogeography with historical cattle movement data, then ran epidemic and counterfactual simulations around the Texas Panhandle and other U.S. regions.
• The result: After April 2024 interstate dairy cattle movement restrictions, interstate transmission slowed but within-state spread persisted, and limiting the epizootic required restrictions 2–3 months earlier.

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