July 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention has merged H5N1 bird flu updates with routine

updates for seasonal influenza, the agency's website showed on

Monday.

The number of people monitored and tested for bird flu will

be reported on a monthly basis, the agency said, adding that it

will no longer report infection rates in animals on its website.

The virus has infected 70 people, mostly farm workers, and

killed one person over the past year as it spread aggressively

among cattle herds and poultry flocks.

Experts have warned that further spread of bird flu raises

the risk of it becoming more transmissible to humans. According

to CDC, the risk to public health from bird flu remains low.

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg News reported that CDC has

ended its emergency response for bird flu as the outbreak has

abated.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which

oversees CDC, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment

on the Bloomberg report.

The country's response to bird flu has faced several

disruptions this year, including from staff exodus at the U.S.

Department of Agriculture as part of the Trump administration's

wider efforts to shrink the federal workforce and the government

cancelling a more than $700 million contract awarded to Moderna ( MRNA )

for the late-stage development of its bird flu vaccine

for humans.