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Bangsamoro gets ambulances

@BANGSAMOROGOVT

COTABATO CITY — Health services in the Bangsamoro region got a boost with the purchase of P217.3 million worth of ambulances, mobile clinics and other vital provisions for hospitals and medical dispensaries in six provinces. 

The equipment, channeled through the office of regional Health Minister Kadil Monera Sinolinding, Jr., were bought by members of the 80-seat Parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao using their transitional development impact fund for 2022, 2023 and 2024.

They also allotted funds for medicines and the allowances of village health workers in Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces.

Mr. Sinolinding and BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim led Monday’s ceremonies where 48 land ambulances, two sea ambulances, two van-type mobile clinics and eight special patient transport vehicles were given to local governments, hospitals and health centers. — John Felix M. Unson

Arca beats top seed Amartuvshin to share Eastern Asia Juniors lead

CHRISTIAN GIAN KARLO ARCA — BW FILE PHOTO

CHRISTIAN GIAN KARLO ARCA continued to hang with the big boys of the premier Open section of the Eastern Asia Juniors and Girls Chess Championships where he currently shares the lead with two others after six rounds in Karawaci-Tangerang, Indonesia.

The 15-year-old, Panabo, Davao del Norte-born Mr. Arca caught the biggest fish of them all in top seed Mongolian International Master (IM) Ganzorig Amartuvshin that sent the former zooming to the top alongside Mongolian International Master Munkhdalai Amilal of Mongolia and Indonesian FM Nayaka Budhidharma with five points apiece.

Mr. Arca was tackling Mr. Amilal in the seventh round at press time hoping to sustain his impressive charge and claim that IM title and Grandmaster (GM) norm he was dreaming to realize.

And it wasn’t a shock that Mr. Arca is keeping his torrid pace as he had also topped the blitz division of the World Youth Championship in Italy in November last year and a GM tournament in Vietnam last May.

In the girls’ section, Filipina Franchesca Largo smashed Shafira Devi Herfesa to jump to joint third with Mongolian Woman FM Nanjid Tsogzolmaa with 4.5 points apiece.

Ms. Largo was tangling with top seed and solo leader WIM Laysa Latifah of Indonesia with 5.5 points hoping to keep staying in the hunt.

Indonesian WFM Cecilia Natalie Liuviann was solo No. 2 with five points. — Joey Villar

SSL kicks off Wednesday; NU, CSB lead field

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY LADY BULLDOGS — UAAP MEDIA TEAM /JULIUS DOMONDON & JOAQUI FLORES

UAAP champion National University (NU) and NCAA titlist College of St. Benilde (CSB) headline the cast when the 2024 Shakey’s Super League (SSL) National Invitationals kick off Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

A total of 12 teams from the UAAP, NCAA, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao comprise the field divided into four pools in a single-round eliminations with the top two teams advancing to the knockout playoffs.

NU, the UAAP Season 86 champion and winner of the first two SSL pre-season championships, banners Pool A with Enderun Colleges and Xavier University-Northern Mindanao Selection.

College of St. Benilde, the three-peat NCAA queens with 40 straight wins and counting, leads Pool D with runner-up Colegio de San Juan de Letran and University of San Carlos (USC) while Pool B has UAAP runner-up University of Santo Tomas, University of Batangas and Team SOCCSKSARGEN.

Completing the fray are UAAP semifinalist Far Eastern University (FEU), NCAA semifinalist Lyceum of the Philippines University and CESAFI champion University of the Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) in Pool C. De La Salle University, the reigning SSL National Invitationals Champion, begged from the tourney due to injuries.

A simple opening ceremony is set at 11 a.m. after the curtain-raiser between USC and Letran as NU, led by UAAP MVP Bella Belen, tests the mettle of Enderun at 12 p.m. followed by the matches of UB-UST at 2 p.m. and USPF-FEU at 4 p.m.

But there’s more to the SSL than just a tournament assembling the best collegiate teams across the archipelago as the league in partnership with the Athletic Events and Sports Management, Inc., (ACES) reiterated its support for the growth of Philippine volleyball anew.

“I’m glad to be back and it’s my honor and privilege to be here seated with the stakeholders of the Philippine volleyball and SSL. I’d like to thank all of you and let’s look forward to this genuinely exciting and competitive league,” said ACES Chairman Dr. Philip Ella Juico.

“We always believe that we can play a part in developing women’s volleyball so we always look forward to the SSL. It provides opportunities for all players to compete with the more popular universities,” added Shakeys Pizza Asia Ventures, Inc. (SPAVI) CEO Vic Gregorio, joined by COO Jorge Concepcion, 12 Beyond Media’s Patricia Bermudez-Hizon and Smart Communications’ Bajjie del Rosario.

All Games will be available via livestream on Smart Livestream and Puso Pilipinas as well as on TV through Solar Sports. — John Bryan Ulanday

Fajardo leading race for PBA Season 48 MVP

JUNE MAR FAJARDO — FIBA

AFTER setting a new all-time high in most Best Player of the Conference (BPC) awards won, is an unprecedented eighth PBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) plum next for San Miguel Beer’s (SMB) June Mar Fajardo?

Mr. Fajardo, who claimed his 10th BPC in the Philippines Cup, stormed ahead of the race for the top individual plum of the two-conference Season 48 with 42.1 average statistical points.

“The Kraken” logged 17.8 points and a league-best 13.4 rebounds to go with 2.8 assists ad 1.7 blocks in SMB’s one-championship, one-runnerup showing en route to the front seat against Ginebra’s Christian Standhardinger (37.8 SPs) and fellow Beermen CJ Perez (37.4 SPs).

Mr. Standhardinger, the only other local aside from Mr. Fajardo with double-double averages (19.8 markers and 10.2 boards), and Mr. Perez (18.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists), the BPC of the season-opening Commissioner’s Cup that the Beermen ruled, are expected to crowd Mr. Fajardo in the shortlist of candidates for the prestigious plum.

NorthPort’s Arvin Tolentino (21.78 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists) and TNT’s Calvin Oftana (21.81 points, 8 rebounds, 2.6 assists) sit at Nos. 4 and 5 with 35.9 and 35.4 SPs, respectively.

Top rookie pick Stephen Holt of Terrafirma runs sixth in the MVP chase with 34.1 SPs ahead of Chris Newsome (31.7 SPs), who helped Meralco to the All-Filipino crown at the expense of SMB.

Season 46 MVP Scottie Thompson of Ginebra (30.3), Terrafirma’s Juami Tiongson (29.2) and Phoenix’ Jason Perkins (28.8) round out the Top 10.

Mr. Holt, who produced 17.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.9 steals to key the Dyip’s first quarterfinal stint in eight seasons, paces the contenders for the Rookie of the Year honors.

NorthPort’s Cade Flores (23.3 SPs), Rain or Shine’s Adrian Nocum (21.8 SPs), Phoenix’ Ken Tuffin (21.5 SPs) and Blackwater’s No 2 selection Christian David (17.8 SPs) trail the Fil-Am guard.

The winners of the awards will be determined based on stats and votes from media, players and the Commissioner’s Office. — Olmin Leyba

Djokovic lets rip after majestic performance; game over for Zverev

LONDON — Emotions ran high for Novak Djokovic on Monday as he angrily lashed out at Wimbledon fans following his three-set demolition job over young Dane Holger Rune in the fourth round, while it was game over for a previously indestructible Alexander Zverev.

After tentative performances in his two previous outings, seven-time champion Mr. Djokovic had appeared to be back to his best against Rune as he dished out a 6-3 6-4 6-2 masterclass to set up a quarter-final date with Australian Alex De Minaur.

But for the thousands of fans who had stuck around late into the night to watch the match under a closed Centre Court roof, it is unlikely their abiding memory from day eight of the championships will have anything to do with the dazzling backhands or forehands that were on show.

Instead, what they will remember is the astonishing words that flowed out of Mr. Djokovic’s mouth during a bizarre post-match interview, in which he accused the crowd of disrespecting him.

Irritated by the fans who greeted Mr. Rune’s occasional moments of brilliance with chants of “Ruuune!,” he ranted: “To all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a goooooood night! Goooooood night! Goooooood night!”

When the interviewer suggested the fans had merely been chanting his rival’s name, Djokovic disagreed.

“I don’t accept that, no, no, no. I know there they were cheering for Rune but that’s an excuse to also boo. Listen, I’ve been on the tour for more than 20 years. So trust me, I know all the tricks. I know how it works. It’s fine. It’s fine,” he added pointing to the stands.

It was a strange way to end proceedings on Centre Court which had earlier witnessed world number four Mr. Zverev becoming the highest men’s seed to fall by the wayside. The German came unstuck against Taylor Fritz in a five-set thriller despite being only two games away from securing a place in the last eight for the first time.

ONE LEG
Like Mr. Djokovic, who had knee surgery last month, Mr. Zverev turned up on court wearing a protective support around his leg after falling awkwardly during his previous match.

That did not stop the German trading brutal blows with Mr. Fritz for 3-1/2 hours before he fell to a 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3) 6-3 defeat after he was finally broken for the first time at this year’s championships having chalked up 56 successive holds of serve.

Mr. Zverev regularly bombarded his American opponent with 130 mph missiles, fired down 19 thunderbolt aces, produced 55 winners and even won the longest rally in the contest which dragged on for 21 shots — and at the end of it all, the German declared he had been playing “on one leg.”

“It was fairly obvious that I wasn’t 100% today, right?” Mr. Zverev asked reporters before elaborating that an MRI scan had shown that he had a tear in his knee capsule as well as bone bruising.

The Fritz-Zverev marathon was the 35th match to go five sets at the All England Club this year, tying the record for the most at any slam since tennis turned professional in 1968.

Eastbourne champion Mr. Fritz’s victory also raised a glimmer of hope that the 21-year slam drought for American men might soon end after he joined Queen’s Club champion Tommy Paul in the last eight. For the first time since 2000, more than one American man will feature in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

It was not a good day for Frenchmen, however, as Mr. De Minaur beat Arthur Fils 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-3, while Italian Lorenzo Musetti set up a showdown with Fritz after gatecrashing Mpetshi Perricard’s 21st birthday celebrations with a 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2 win.

Elena Rybakina, the only women’s Wimbledon champion left in the draw, got an easy ride after Anna Kalinskaya retired hurt while trailing 6-3 3-0. The Kazakh will face Elina Svitolina, who demolished Xinyu Wang 6-2 6-1.

The other quarterfinal in the top half of the women’s draw will feature two players who have both triumphed at the French Open. Barbora Krejcikova beat Danielle Collins 7-5 6-3, while Jelena Ostapenko was a 6-2 6-3 winner over Yulia Putintseva. — Reuters

Keegan Bradley named US captain for 2025 Ryder Cup

KEEGAN BRADLEY has been named US captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in New York, the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of America announced on Monday after a search process during which they also talked to Tiger Woods about taking the job.

Mr. Bradley succeeds twice major champion Zach Johnson as US captain after the latter faced plenty of criticism following the last edition of the biennial event where his squad failed to get the job done against Europe.

Mr. Woods, who won the 2002 US Open at Bethpage Black, had been the overwhelming favorite to take over as captain but has been busy off the golf course and previously said he was unsure if he could devote the necessary time the position demands. For Mr. Bradley, who counts the 2011 PGA Championship among his six wins on the PGA Tour, his appointment as captain comes after he was left off the 2023 US Ryder Cup squad in a year in which his six top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour included two wins.

When asked about the captain’s job in May ahead of the PGA Championship, Mr. Woods said the two sides were still talking about what that would look like and whether he had the time to do it.

The 15-times major champion was an obvious candidate for the captaincy having made eight appearances as a player in the Ryder Cup between 1997 and 2018 during which he compiled an overall record of 13-21-3. — Reuters

US first among equals

Naturally, all eyes are on Team USA as it prepares to defend its title at the Paris Olympics late this month. The roster is a veritable Who’s Who of National Basketball Association All-Stars, certainly even more stacked than that which claimed the Gold in Tokyo three years ago. Back from the pandemic-hit squad are Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo, Jrue Holiday, and Jayson Tatum. Backstopping them are LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Edwards, and Tyrese Haliburton.

Considering the pedigree of the players, the US has rightly been tabbed the overwhelming favorite to emerge first among equals. It isn’t projected to suffer a defeat — not in tuneups, not in group matches, and not in knockout affairs. Which, to be sure, doesn’t mean the competitors will be sharing the court with it already primed for defeat. To the contrary, they’re likely to exert even more effort to take the measure of the supposed juggernaut. After all, it’s one thing to be the fashionable pick of oddsmakers, and quite another to prove worthy of the prognosis.

For would-be contenders, the onus is on the US to definitively demonstrate its ascendancy. After all, it prepped for the 2021 Games with the same expectations, only to lose twice in four exhibition set-tos and again in group play. And when all the marbles were at stake, it had to overcome a scare from France to prevail by an underwhelming two possessions. Bottom line, the pressure is on it to fend off challengers confident of their capacity to exceed themselves.

Indeed, the path to success will not be easy for the US. That said, it’s bent on showing that while the gap between it and the rest of the world is no longer yawning, there remains one. And because it’s keen on making a statement, it has been going full bore even in scrimmages. The City of Light beckons, and it’s determined to shine brightly.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Australian agency says China-backed hackers behind cybercrimes

REUTERS

SYDNEY — Australia’s government cybersecurity agency on Tuesday accused a China-backed hacker group of stealing passwords and usernames from two unnamed Australian networks in 2022, adding that the group remained a threat.

A joint report led by the Australian Cyber Security Centre said the hackers, named APT40, had conducted malicious cyber operations for China’s Ministry of State Security, the main agency overlooking foreign intelligence.  “The activity and techniques overlap with the groups tracked as Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) 40,” said the report, which included inputs from lead cybersecurity agencies for the United States, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Germany.

China’s embassy in Australia did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

US and British officials in March had accused Beijing of a sweeping cyberespionage campaign that allegedly hit millions of people including lawmakers, academics and journalists, and companies including defense contractors. They said China-backed “APT31” was responsible for the network intrusion.

China at the time said the hacking allegations by US and Britain were “political maneuvering.”

APTs are a general term for cyber actors or groups, often state-backed, that engage in malicious cyber activities. New Zealand in March said APT40 targeted its parliamentary services and parliamentary counsel office in 2021 and had gained access to important information.

“(The Australian government) is committed to defending Australian organizations and individuals in the cyber domain, which is why for the first time we are leading this type of cyber attribution,” Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement released to the media.

The report comes as both Australia and China are rebuilding ties after a period of strained relations. Ties hit a low in 2020 after Canberra called for an independent investigation into the origin of COVID-19. Beijing responded by imposing tariffs on several Australian commodities, most of which have been lifted. — Reuters

Here are the world’s 10 best airports for 2024

SALT LAKE CITY International Airport ranks in AirHelp’s top 10 in the world for 2024. — GEORGE FREY/BLOOMBERG

SUMMER TRAVEL may be well underway, but there’s still time to make better airport choices for the second half of the year.

On July 9, AirHelp. Inc. released its 2024 score report ranking the world’s best and worst airports. The company, which secures compensation for air travelers after delays and cancelations, creates the rankings partially based on the claims it processes worldwide — along with outside sources tracking on-time performance, customer feedback and the quality of food and shopping options at 239 airports globally. Punctual arrivals and departures represent 60% of each airport’s score.

The data analysis spans from May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024, and includes 17,550 airport ratings that were collected by surveying passengers from 64 countries about their most recently used airports.

Taking the crown this year is Hamad International Airport in Qatar — which ranked fifth in last year’s awards. Cape Town International Airport in South Africa and Chubu Centrair International Airport in Japan come in second and third place, respectively.

But the real surprise this year points to the US, with Salt Lake City (SLC) International Airport cracking the top 10 list; the gateway to Utah’s epic skiing and numerous national parks ranked 8th in the world and best in the US. The new SLC airport is a state-of-the-art facility that opened in September 2020 and has been seeing improvements ever since, with its final phase expected to be completed this fall.

The appearance of a US airport in the global top 10 is especially noteworthy, considering just three US airports made it on AirHelp’s top 50 global airports list in 2023: Minneapolis-St. Paul International (No. 13), Seattle-Tacoma International (No. 34) and Detroit Metropolitan Airport Wayne County (No. 38). This time, 10 US airports are among the top 50, including Washington Dulles International (No. 11), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (No. 16), Nashville International (No. 18) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International (No. 21).

“Looking at the 2024 rankings, the US has made strides, landing seven airports in the top thirty,” said Tomasz Pawliszyn, chief executive officer of AirHelp, in an emailed statement. As airports restaff post-pandemic, the airport experience is improving for US-bound travelers, he added.

That’s reflecting in the performance scores among the top 10 US airports, which show significant improvement over last year’s scores. On the 2023 list, the top-scoring US airport — Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) — received a score of 8.15 (out of a maximum of 10 points). This year, six of the top 10 US airports received a higher score. — Bloomberg


Here are AirHelp’s top 10 best airports in the world

10. Narita International Airport, Tokyo, Japan (NRT)

9. Val-de-Cans/Júlio Cezar Ribeiro International Airport, Belém, Brazil (BEL)

8. Salt Lake City International Airport, US (SLC)

7. Muscat International Airport, Oman (MCT)

6. Johannesburg-OR Tambo International Airport, South Africa (JNB)

5. Brasília-President Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport, Brazil (BSB)

4. Osaka International Airport, Japan (ITM)

3. Chubu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya, Japan (NGO)

2. Cape Town International Airport, South Africa (CPT)

1. Hamad International Airport, Qatar (DOH)

The few can beat the many, Taiwan’s Lai says

TAIWAN President-elect Lai Ching-te, of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), holds a press conference, following his victory in the presidential elections, in Taipei, Taiwan, Jan. 13, 2023. — REUTERS

TAIPEI — There are many examples in history of smaller militaries beating larger opponents, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te told air force officers in comments released on Tuesday, offering encouragement ahead of annual war games being held later this month.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory, has been staging regular exercises around the island for four years to pressure Taipei to accept Beijing’s claim of sovereignty, despite Taiwan’s strong objections.

Taiwan’s armed forces are dwarfed by those of China’s.

But Taiwan has been modernizing the military not only with new equipment like submarines but championing the idea of “asymmetric warfare,” to make its forces more mobile and hard to attack, with for example vehicle-mounted missiles and drones.

Mr. Lai, wearing camouflaged military fatigues and taking questions in front of a Taiwan-made Ching-kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter at an air base in central Taiwan, said military strength is not a simple mathematical question of addition and subtraction.

“The amount of equipment admittedly is important, but it cannot represent the military power of a country,” Mr. Lai said, in video footage released by his office. “In history, there are many cases where the few win out over the many, and there are countless ways to win over old-fashioned enemies with new thinking.”

A senior Taiwan official said last month that this year’s annual Han Kuang drills will be as close as possible to actual combat, no longer just putting on a show to score points but aiming to simulate real fighting given a rapidly rising “enemy threat” from China.

Taiwan starts its five-day Han Kuang exercises on July 22, alongside the Wan An civil defense drills where cities are briefly shut down during simulated air raids.

China held two days of its own war games around the island shortly after Mr. Lai took office in May, saying it was “punishment” for his inauguration speech, which Beijing denounced as being full of separatist content.

Mr. Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks but been rebuffed by China.

“The peace we want is a peace with a solid foundation, a true peace that must be established by our own strength,” Mr. Lai said at the Taichung air base.

China has previously said it is futile for Taiwan to think it can use arms to prevent “reunification”.

Asked by a fighter pilot whether Taiwan was giving people a wrong impression it was preparing for war with its focus on defence self-sufficiency, Mr. Lai said he wanted peace.

“Some people may have such misgivings but everyone knows we are a peace loving country,” he said. “But the peace we want is a ‘true peace’ that has a solid foundation and is established by our own strength.” — Reuters

Biden is not being treated for Parkinson’s, White House says after NYT report

GAGE SKIDMORE-COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG

WASHINGTON — US President Joseph R. Biden is not being treated for Parkinson’s disease and has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physicals, the White House said on Monday, after the New York Times (NYT) reported that visitor logs showed a doctor specializing in the illness visited the White House at least eight times from August through March.

Concerns that Mr. Biden might be suffering from an undisclosed illness have risen since he stumbled, appearing frail and losing his train of thought at times, at his June 27 debate against Republican Donald Trump.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House doctor, issued a letter on Monday night that said Mr. Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his normal annual physical.

Mr. Biden is battling criticism from some Democrats that he lacks the mental acuity to stand as their nominee against Mr. Trump in the Nov. 5 presidential election. Mr. Biden has, however, said he will not abandon his campaign, telling MSNBC via phone on Monday that he was “not going anywhere.”

A Reuters review of White House visitor logs showed that Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist and movement disorders specialist from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, visited the White House eight times from August through March. Mr. Cannard has co-authored research on treatment for early Parkinson’s disease at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Mr. O’Connor said Mr. Cannard’s visits to the White House were part of his neurological clinics aimed at supporting “thousands” of active duty members assigned in support of White House operations and not to treat the president. Mr. Cannard’s visits to the White House were first reported by The New York Post on July 6.

One former White House official, who worked for Mr. Biden when he was vice president under President Barack Obama and as president, was treated by the same doctor for migraines in 2016, the former official told Reuters.

The doctor came to the White House once a month then as part of his rotation, the individual said.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre refused to confirm or elaborate on Mr. Cannard’s visits earlier in the day. At the media briefing, she was frequently challenged by reporters and said she wanted to respect the privacy of all involved for security reasons.

She said Mr. Biden had seen a neurologist three times connected to his annual physical exam. She did not explain Mr. Cannard’s presence at the White House but suggested it might be connected to treating some of the military personnel who work at the White House complex.

“There are thousands of military personnel that come to the White House and they are under the care of the medical unit,” she said. — Reuters

Bird flu strain in US cows shows minimal air spread in ferret study

DAVID FARTEK-UNSPLASH

LONDON — The bird flu strain found in cows in the United States is not easily transmitted through the air among ferrets, a new study shows, although the scientist who led the work said it had shown some ability to spread this way.

Ferrets are considered to be the best small mammal for studying influenza virus infection and transmission, and are often used to inform assessments of the public health risks of emerging viruses.

In the experiment led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, ferrets infected with a sample of the H5N1 bird flu strain were placed near healthy animals, but not close enough for physical contact.

None of the four healthy ferrets exposed in this way became ill and no virus was recovered from them during the study.

However, one of the ferrets produced antibodies to the virus, the researchers later found, suggesting it had been infected.

“It is good news that the virus does not have extensive transmissibility between ferrets through the air, but it is concerning that it has the ability to transmit (at all in this way),” said study author and flu virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka.

A virus that can spread easily through the air between humans would pose a greater pandemic threat than H5N1 currently does.

That risk is assessed by public health agencies worldwide as low, as there is no evidence of any human-to-human transmission.

Four human cases, all dairy workers, have been reported in the U.S. since avian flu was confirmed in dairy cows in March. All four people have recovered.

The study, published on Monday in Nature, also showed the bird flu virus in cows can bind to human-type receptors under lab conditions. These receptors are how flu viruses typically enter and infect human cells in the real world.

Bird flu prefers to bind to avian-type receptors only, which are scarce in humans. The lab results need further study to assess their real-world implications, scientists said, as in the past flu viruses that developed the ability to bind to both types have caused human pandemics.

Scientists have so far suspected the virus spreads among animals and humans through contact with infected milk or aerosolized milk droplets, or from exposure to infected birds or poultry.

The study also confirmed that the virus, isolated from the milk of an infected cow in New Mexico, made both mice and ferrets sick after exposure to the unpasteurized milk.

It also spread through the body to muscles and mammary glands in infected mice, as it appears to do in cows.

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, said it was a relief to see the virus had not yet acquired the capability to cause a human pandemic, but this did not mean it would never do so, particularly if the spread among cows goes unchecked.

“It’s always better to stop a pandemic before it starts than to respond to it once it has started. We should heed this warning and take action now,” she said via email.

The study was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. — Reuters