Editor’s observe: This can be a creating story. Stay Science is involved with the CDC and can replace it after they reply.
Two “solely indoor” cats from two separate households in Michigan caught H5N1 chicken flu and finally died, based on a brand new report. The instances elevate the likelihood that individuals within the cats’ households handed the virus on to their pets, however a scarcity of information considerably muddies the image.
The instances are described in a brand new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) printed Thursday (Feb. 20). A number of authors on the paper are scientists affiliated with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC), whereas the remaining are related to Michigan well being and agricultural companies or universities.
H5N1 has lengthy been identified to sicken each wild and home cats, and it could possibly trigger severe signs within the animals, together with neurological issues, and result in demise. Since Might 2022, the U.S. Division of Agriculture has recorded dozens of H5N1 infections in wild and home felines throughout the nation. There have additionally been latest experiences of pet cats catching chicken flu from contaminated uncooked pet meals merchandise.
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Within the first of the 2 latest cat instances, a family with three indoor cats noticed one in every of its felines get sick in Might 2024. That cat, a 5-year-old feminine, initially began exhibiting a scarcity of urge for food, in addition to lethargy and disorientation. The cat was dropped at a neighborhood vet after which the Michigan State College (MSU) Veterinary Medical Middle, which has superior remedies accessible. However attributable to “speedy illness development,” the cat was euthanized.
Hen flu had been reported on some Michigan dairy farms by that point, and the cat’s proprietor labored on a dairy farm, though indirectly with the animals. The sick cat’s physique was submitted for additional testing after euthanization, and swabs from the cat’s mind and nostril got here again optimistic for H5N1. The virus samples from the cat matched the viruses circulating in native cattle.
This discovery prompted a broader investigation, by which officers discovered that one other indoor cat within the family developed potential chicken flu signs after the primary cat did. These signs included decreased urge for food and watery eye discharge, however the cat finally recovered with out particular remedy. No specimens from the second cat had been examined for H5N1, however the timing of sickness might level to attainable transmission.
Though the dairy employee declined to be examined for chicken flu, they did report experiencing vomiting and diarrhea a day earlier than the primary cat received sick. The three different members of the employee’s family examined unfavorable for influenza A, the broad group of viruses H5N1 belongs to.
Complicating the image, one individual within the family — an adolescent who’d had “common contact” with the sick cat — received sick about six days after the cat did. Their signs included cough, sore throat, headache and muscle aches. Nevertheless, the teenager examined unfavorable for flu and as a substitute got here again optimistic on a check that appears for different widespread viruses, resembling common-cold viruses. So whereas the timing of the teenager’s an infection might be worrisome, primarily based on these check outcomes, it might be that the person had a run-of-the-mill respiratory sickness.
Across the identical timeframe in a special Michigan family, a second indoor cat got here down with chicken flu.
A 6-month-old male, that cat was additionally an solely indoor pet. The proprietor introduced the cat into the MSU clinic after it confirmed sooner or later of “progressive neurologic deterioration,” facial swelling and stopped consuming. The cat died inside 24 hours of those signs rising. Nasal swabs from the cat had been optimistic for H5N1.
The cat’s proprietor, a dairy employee who transported unpasteurized (uncooked) milk from numerous farms, declined testing for chicken flu. The employee had a “worry of dropping employment as a consequence of speaking with public well being officers and implicating farms that offered milk,” the MMWR notes. Nevertheless, the employee did report having notable eye irritation two days earlier than the cat received sick. (Current H5N1 infections in people have typically concerned eye signs, particularly conjunctivitis.)
The employee additionally reported having not worn protecting tools when dealing with uncooked milk and ceaselessly experiencing “splash exposures” to the face, eyes and clothes whereas working. The cat that received contaminated and died ceaselessly rolled within the proprietor’s garments, whereas a second cat within the family that did not get sick didn’t exhibit that habits.
“As a result of neither dairy employee obtained testing for A(H5), whether or not cat 1A’s proprietor’s gastrointestinal signs or cat 2A’s proprietor’s ocular signs had been due to HPAI A(H5N1) virus an infection or a special etiology [cause] is unknown,” the MMWR says.
Notably, a knowledge desk included within the new MMWR was really printed earlier within the month, The New York Occasions reported Feb. 6. This appears to have been unintentional, because the desk was promptly taken down. (Stay Science has requested the CDC to substantiate whether or not this information desk is similar one which was taken down, however primarily based on that earlier information story, the information seems the identical.)
Based on the Occasions report, in early February, the information desk had briefly appeared in a report that in any other case centered on air high quality and the Los Angeles County wildfires, the Occasions reported. Previous to the wildfire report’s launch, a pause had been positioned on exterior communications from federal well being companies, together with the CDC’s MMWR, which had been printed each week for many years. On the time, specialists expressed concern that the information had been probably being withheld for political functions.
This text is for informational functions solely and isn’t meant to supply medical or veterinary recommendation.
