epidemiologists are trying to determine how this flu is spreading, i.e. whether it is airborne, spread by fomites (touching infected surfaces), bodily fluids, etc. Sorry, but I don't have a link or remember the source.
It said that there is no definitive decision on it yet, but consuming infected meat is one way. Drinking raw milk from infected cows is another way. Pasteurization and thorough cooking of meat destroy the virus.
But what about butchers who handle the raw meat? Restaurant cooks and chefs who handle it? People at home in their kitchens who prepare raw chicken and beef from the grocery store to cook for themselves and their families? Do they pick it up from handling infected meat? What about their countertops, cooking utensils, sinks?
Wild birds that get into zoo enclosures have killed other birds and large wild cats, possibly from bird droppings?
The article also reported that veterinarians and state health officials observed farm practices to see how the bird flu might be spreading among cows and from cows to humans. They suggested that new cows added to a herd might be contaminated but not yet showing symptoms. But how does the virus spread between them?
Farm workers might be contributing to the spread of the virus among cows through equipment that is not sterilized between uses. Individual hand milkers use a cloth to dry the udders and use the same cloth to wipe sweat or moisture from their faces. They carry the same cloth from one cow to the next. Milk can splash onto them from the containers. Their hands are contaminated from touching the cows' udders. If they wear gloves, they would have to change them between cows, but they don't.
Indoor/outdoor pet cats hunt birds, even if well fed. Barn cats are exposed to infected cows.
Those are direct contact exposures. But epidemiologists don't know yet if someone who comes in direct contact with infected animals can leave an active virus on surfaces to be picked up by someone who touches the same surface later.
Most studies are looking at direct touch contamination. What about air droplets? Indirect exposure on surfaces?