A version of the H5N1 bird flu virus that killed a person in Louisiana and severely sickened a teenager in Canada has now been detected in dairy herds in Nevada. The version, known as D1.1, is circulating in wild birds around the nation — causing massive die-offs in places such as Chicago, upstate New York and Ohio.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the finding Wednesday.

It's different from the version circulating in dairy cows, which has caused only relatively mild illness in humans, although it has killed scores of domestic and wild cats. Both versions belong to the H5N1 virus family — each with slightly different histories and genetic structures.

Finding D1.1 in dairy cows caught investigators off-guard, but it is just the latest surprise as the H5N1 bird flu continues to flummox researchers and public health officials. It's a stark reminder that this virus does not behave like a "typical" flu virus.

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