Cats Seen at Risk in Bird Flu Zones

[icymist]

By MALCOLM RITTER
AP Science Writer

April 5, 2006, 10:28 AM EDT


NEW YORK -- People living in areas where bird flu has been found in poultry or wild birds should keep their cats indoors, say scientists who believe the potential role of felines in spreading the virus is being overlooked.

Cats have been known to become infected with the H5N1 virus and lab experiments show they can give it to other cats, although nobody knows whether they can transmit it to people or poultry, the researchers say in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

Scientists know so little about H5N1 in cats that it's difficult to assess the risk they pose when infected, wrote virologist Albert Osterhaus and colleagues at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, along with Peter Roeder of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
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[Catamount]

1. Thanks for this post.....

I was wondering about my 3 cats, as we have a small stretch of Wilderness outside our apartments, where birds abound and the cats love to explore; but I guess I don't have to worry yet!

[Betsy Ross]

2. Not the wilds here but lots of birds.

When wild birds start dying, the three boys become indoor cats. We will have to wear ear plugs and lock them out of the bedroom to keep them from annoying us to get outside. I would suspect there it might be more possible to pass the virus from mammal to mammal than from birds to mammal.

[DemExpat]

3. Since Holland has killed millions of animals as preventative measures

with chicken flu, pig dieases, mad cow disease scares,etc.

I won't be surprised if in future a call is made to cull housepets suspected of spreading this strain of bird flu - cats and dogs........

Nothing is too crazy to happen in this world IMHO.

DemEx