Bird flu....now in CATS!!!

[Beca]

I just heard on ABC news...the bird flu has been found in Austrian cats...so scary!!



Beca

 

[FreshTressa]

Are they dying from it?

 

[golfgal]

I don't think that is all that scary, cats eat birds. If a bird has the bird flu and a cat eats it, the cat could easily catch the bird flu. The only time this is going to get scary is if the virus makes the jump from bird to human without direct contact, like kissing an infected chicken.

 

[Tigger_Magic]

Before panic spreads, a few additional facts may be helpful to consider.

Three cats have tested positive for the deadly strain of bird flu in Austria's first reported case of the disease spreading to an animal other than a bird, state authorities said Monday. The sick cats were among 170 living at an animal shelter where the disease was detected in chickens last month.

 

[Virgo10]

Two cats that carried the H5N1 strain of bird flu in southern Austria have rejected the virus without becoming sick, while a third one is still being tested for the disease, health officials said.

The rest of the article is here: Bird Flu in Felines

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

It has already mutated into a variant canine flu (by first going through horses) - not sure if it is exactly the same strain. Last spring an illness started spreading through greyhounds at the racetracks. At first, they thought they had Kennel cough, but later realized it was canine flu. Last fall, there many articles about the fears of it spreading through dog shows, kennels, etc. -- however, I have not heard anything recently. The stats were pretty alarming at the time.....but I am beginning to wonder if the media didn't blow it out of proportion as we aren't hearing alot about it now...

(edit to add: I just did some research, apparently it WAS blown out of preportion last Sept...most of the info I found reported it responds to antibiotice 95 % of the time. I think the media picked up on the fact that 80% of dogs could be expected to come down with the disease, but it did not mean all those would necessarily die from it....) I think all this is important to remember in the coming months, etc as the media reports anything/everything related to avian flu....

 

[Beca]

Two cats that carried the H5N1 strain of bird flu in southern Austria have rejected the virus without becoming sick, while a third one is still being tested for the disease, health officials said.

The rest of the article is here: Bird Flu in Felines

Thanks for that....ABC did not elaborate last night...they only said, "A third cat in Austria tested positive for the avian flu today."

I still find how easily this virus is "jumping species" to be rather alarming.



Beca

 

[disney1990]

It's not jumping species. The cats did not get it from being around the birds. The cats got it from eating the birds.

Plus, you don't have to "kiss" those chickens, just being around this is all it takes. Do you really think that the people in other countries have been kissing their chickens?