Bird flu does not only affect chickens and cows; He strikes cats for pets.
It is estimated that 11.6 million households in California have 23.3 million cats. An increasing number of these and an unknown population of “community cats” in freedom have contracted avian flu, or H5N1.
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), 19 out of 39 – almost half – of the unfacted mammals in California infected during the current H5N1 epidemic were domestic cats. The majority of these cats, including a wandering family by a Half Moon Bay family and confirmed by an H5N1 infection last month, died or were euthanized.
With the kittens season at the corner of the street, this press organization has gathered cat experts for advice on how to reduce the propagation of bird flu among felines and species that interact with them.
Q: Can cats distribute H5N1 to people?
A: A written statement by California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said that there was no report on the fact that humans contract the cats of cats. But the animal-human transmission of the virus has already taken place. California leads the country to H5N1 human infections, mainly infected dairy cows. Dr. Jane E. Sykes, specialist in infectious diseases in dogs and cats of the Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, said: “If the virus had to change in the future, as it has shown, then it could have more serious implications for humans in terms of pandemic development.”
Q: Why are cats so sensitive to the virus?
A: Sensitivity concerns the density and location of specific receptors of viral cells in the respiratory tract and other cat organ systems, said Sykes, and the underlying characteristics of their immune system.
Q: What about the risk of influenza of birds in dogs and dogs close to cats?
A: For the moment, very few domestic dogs have been reported with bird flu infections. Sykes said it is probably because they are less sensitive to H5N1. This does not mean that they are immune.
Q: Should cat owners still worry?
A: According to CDPH, “human interaction with domestic cats is more intimate and in progress than with cattle and poultry species”. This proximity exponentially increases the potential of the contagion of the cat to human and ultimately human, and scientists say that test capacities and research on human vaccines are not prepared for this.
Q: How do cats get the bird flu?
A: The majority of domesticated cats infected during this epidemic have consumed raw milk or commercially marketed raw food products. The cause of the infection in the Wandering Moon Bay Bay has never been determined, which raises concerns about wild (wild) and lost (lost, abandoned) cats. These animals have more chances of exposure to other infected cats, wild birds or black rats, which joined the list of animals affected by H5N1 in California at the beginning of this year.
Q: What is the incubation period for bird flu in cats?
A: Clinical signs generally appear in infected cats after a few days a week, according to Sykes.
Q: Can cats distribute the bird flu while asymptomatic?
A: “There is no evidence that healthy cats can be infected with H5N1 and spread the virus without showing symptoms,” said CDPH. But Sykes said there were too many strangers to be sure. “We do not know how many cats are exposed and recover without showing signs of illness. We still do not have major studies available to understand the proportion of cats, for example, nourished by raw diets and have antibodies against the virus, “she warned.
Q: Is there still a vaccine for the bird flu?
A: On February 14, Zoetis Pharmaceutical Company announced the conditional approval of the USDA for a vaccine currently limited to poultry.
Q: How can I prevent my pet from obtaining the bird flu?
A: Scientists, veterinarians, public health officials and animal enthusiasts urge all cat owners to keep their pets inside at any time if possible. “It’s just safer and healthier for them overall,” said Dr. Katherine Mills, medical director of friends from Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS). Mills have also recommended that they do not feed raw milk or raw food, even if the products are commercially wrapped, frozen or lyophilized.
Q: How do I know if my cat has an avian flu?
A: They can have higher respiratory symptoms, such as sneezing, coughing or congestion and difficulty breathing, or discharges that flow from the eyes, nose and mouth, as well as lethargy and loss of appetite. Mills said to monitor neurological signs, such as “just mentally alert appearance, maybe stumbling when they walk.” In the end, only tests can confirm what is hurting an animal, so it is important to bring sick cats to the veterinarian.
Q: Do I have to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to manage a sick cat?
A: Mills said: “It would never be wrong to wear gloves more or less a mask to put the cat in its carrier and go to the veterinarian.”
Q: Until now, poultry has been “slaughtered” – killed – if even a bird has an avian flu. My pet for pets or a word that I bring will be summarily euthanized in the interest of public health?
A: There is no protocol for euthanasia routine cats with H5N1 infections, but experts say that support care has rarely been able to help cats quickly progress with bird flu symptoms.
Q: Are freedom cats in freedom a public risk?
A: The Integrated Pests Management Program (IPM) on a state scale in the University of California’s University and Natural Resources Division stipulates that outdoor cats, including 18 to 49% of the American cat population, are already one of the 100 worst invasive species in the world because of their environmental impact and their intractability.
Q: If I find a cat that seems healthy, can I bring it home?
A: The CDPH says to avoid contact with unknown animals regardless of their apparent condition. Meetings must be reported to California Department of Fish and Wildlife at (916) 358-2790, or to the animal control department, the nearest refuge or human society. Mills said that cats found can also have ringworm, fleas and a multitude of contagions other than bird flu.
Q: What do the authorities do on the emerging risk of cats in freedom as a bird’s flu keeper?
A: CDPH has not published specific advice to H5N1 to manage wandering cat populations. Counties continue to manage community cats at their discretion, often in cooperation with shelters and human societies.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
