“Home cats are literally extremely inclined to avian influenza, and particularly H5N1,” mentioned Kristen Coleman, an infectious illness researcher on the College of Maryland. “However there was a latest uptick in home cat infections, a drastic uptick.”
There have been sporadic stories of contaminated canines, too.
Whereas hen flu infections of pets stay uncommon general, they are often extreme, particularly in cats. “It ends in very extreme sickness and oftentimes demise,” Dr. Coleman mentioned. “So it’s very critical, and it ought to be taken significantly.”
However a number of “affordable precautions” may also help folks maintain their pets protected, she mentioned.
Right here’s what to know:
How are cats getting hen flu?
On dairy farms, cats have been contaminated after consuming unpasteurized milk, also called uncooked milk, which accommodates very excessive ranges of the virus, from sick cows. Greater than 80 p.c of affected dairy farms had cats on their premises, and greater than half of these farms reported sick or useless cats, in line with federal knowledge launched on Thursday.
However even earlier than the latest dairy outbreak, there have been stories of contaminated cats, a few of which in all probability caught the virus once they preyed upon contaminated birds. “As we get extra useless, wild birds on the panorama, if we get extra useless poultry on the panorama, these carnivores which will get into them and ingest them, even after they’re useless, are getting only a large dose of virus,” mentioned Dr. Justin Brown, a wildlife veterinarian at Penn State.
A couple of bigger outbreaks have additionally been linked to contaminated uncooked poultry. In 2023, as an illustration, hen flu outbreaks hit two cat shelters in Seoul. Authorities investigators there subsequently discovered the virus in uncooked duck meat fed to the cats.
