Health News Roundup: How bird flu could threaten cow cuddling; Aetna will cover fertility treatments for LGBTQ people under court settlement and more

Teenager Joey Pachl, hoping to impress his girlfriend with an invitation to the high school prom, had paid $75 for an hour-long cow cuddling session at the farm.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Canada toughens import requirements on US breeding cattle over bird flu concerns

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has toughened import requirements on U.S. breeding cattle over the H5N1 bird flu virus, the agency said in a statement on Friday. The first confirmed case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a dairy herd on March 25 and the second human case in two years on April 1 have heightened concerns in the U.S. about the spread of the virus to animals and people.

How bird flu could threaten cow cuddling. Yes, it is a thing.

Farmer Luz Klotz straightened the brightly striped hair bow on Reba, a 1,600-pound heifer lounging on the ground under twinkling fairy lights. Teenager Joey Pachl, hoping to impress his girlfriend with an invitation to the high school prom, had paid $75 for an hour-long cow cuddling session at the farm. Pachl successfully wowed animal loving girlfriend Emma. For Luz and husband Dan Klotz, such visitors have become key to covering the feed bills and keeping their small farm running.

Aetna will cover fertility treatments for LGBTQ people under court settlement

Aetna will pay $2 million and update its coverage policies to settle a lawsuit claiming the health insurer required LGBTQ beneficiaries to pay more out of pocket for fertility treatments than heterosexual people, according to a Friday court filing. Lawyers for four people who in 2021 sued Aetna, a subsidiary of CVS Health Corp, asked a Manhattan federal court to approve the settlement, in which the company agreed to establish a new standard health benefit plan that covers artificial insemination regardless of sexual orientation.

(With inputs from agencies.)