State officials say the highly pathogenic avian influenza – more commonly known as bird flu – is widespread in much of the state.

A version of the H5N1 virus that has killed one person and severely sickened another has been detected in milk samples collected from Nevada dairy herds.

Dairy cattle in Nevada have been infected with a new type of bird flu that's different from the version that has spread in U.S. herds since last year, Agriculture Department officials said Wednesday.