Texas officials tell Barron’s that the number of dairy farms with sick cows is far higher than the eight so far confirmed.

U.S. agriculture officials have portrayed the outbreak of avian influenza in U.S. dairy cows as a contained problem, affecting just 16 dairy herds in a handful of states.

But since the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the positive tests on March 25, it’s become increasingly clear that authorities have little way of knowing how widespread the virus is among the nation’s nearly 90 million cattle.

The discovery in U.S. dairy cows of the bird flu strain known as H5N1 marks the first known cases of avian influenza in cattle. Scientists have long feared the virus for its potential to cause a human pandemic.

The positive cow tests came after nearly two months in which farmers in the Texas Panhandle struggled to explain a mysterious illness sweeping their dairy herds. Officials now believe the sickness was caused by avian flu.

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