May 30 (Reuters) - The U.S. government is nearing an

agreement to fund a late-stage trial of Moderna's ( MRNA ) mRNA

pandemic bird flu vaccine, the Financial Times reported on

Thursday, as an H5N1 outbreak spreads through egg farms and

among cattle herds.

The federal funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research

and Development Authority (BARDA) could come as soon as next

month, and would also include a promise to procure doses if the

phase-three trials turn out to be successful, the report said.

It is expected to total several tens of millions of dollars,

and could be accompanied by a commitment to procure doses if the

phase-three trials are successful, according to the report.

Moderna ( MRNA ) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services (HHS) did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests

for a comment.

The United States, Canada and Europe have been in active

talks with firms such as CSL Seqirus and GSK to

acquire or manufacture H5N1 bird flu vaccines, which could be

used to protect at-risk poultry and dairy workers, veterinarians

and lab technicians.

Last week, a second human case of bird flu was confirmed

in the United States since the virus was first detected in dairy

cattle late-March.

Bird flu has fueled concerns as the disease is increasingly

spreading to mammals, with the first-ever outbreaks detected in

dairy cows in the United States, raising concerns about it

spreading to humans through the nation's milk supply.

Since 2022, bird flu has infected more than 90 million

chickens, 9,000 wild birds, 52 dairy herds and three people in

the country.