Experts say some “reasonable precautions” can help people keep their pets safe from the H5N1 virus.
Over the past few months, an outbreak of bird flu has spread rapidly through dairy cows in the United States, infecting more than 90 cows in 12 states. During this time, the virus has also struck several other species, spreading from dairies to poultry farms and from cows to at least three farm workers who developed mild symptoms of the disease.
It has also led to a surge in cat deaths. Sick or dead cats on some dairy farms are a sign that something is wrong. “They're like the canaries in the coal mine,” Dr. Cami Johnson, a veterinary epidemiologist with the Agriculture Department, said at a news briefing Thursday.
At least 21 cats in nine states have contracted the virus since the dairy outbreak was first detected in late March, according to the department, which only recently began tracking cases in cats.
Scientists have long known that cats are more susceptible to becoming infected with avian influenza, a group of flu viruses commonly found in birds. In 2020, a new variant of the bird flu virus called H5N1 emerged. It has spread rapidly around the world, infecting many wild birds and repeatedly spreading to mammals, including cats.