MARCH 2006 - CATNIP
Cats and Bird Flu
By Sally Deneen

As fears rise over the possibility that a deadly strain of bird flu could mutate and spark a human pandemic that claims millions of lives, a little-noticed issue concerns cat owners: Can cats catch bird flu? And, can they spread it? Anecdotal reports of fatal bird-flu infections of cats in Asia prompted an experiment at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, where researchers inoculated cats with the notorious bird-flu virus (called "H5Nl virus") and fed them virus infected chickens. The result: Infected cats suffered lung damage and transmitted bird flu to other cats, according to the study published in October, 2004, in the peer-reviewed journal, Science.

BIRD FLU GETS GLOBAL ATTENTION
Elsewhere, avian flu killed two housecats in a single Thailand home in early 2004, prompting the World Health Organization to report that it didn't consider those rare deaths likely threats to human health. To help readers understand what bird flu means to beloved pets, we posed common questions to Leonard C. Marcus, VMD, MD, who has taught parasitology and public health at two Tufts University schools - the School of Medicine and Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

Q. What is bird flu?
A. It's a viral infection involving the respiratory tract. In birds, it involves more systems than just that. Often, wild birds can be infected and not necessarily be sick. They may be carriers. It varies how virulent any given strain of bird flu will be. It can range from sub-clinical, meaning the bird has no symptoms, to all the way to fatal.

Q. Should infected birds reach the United States, could my free-romaning cat get avian flu by killing an infected wild bird?
A. The cat would certainly be exposed to the virus. I don't think it's clear-cut what the level of risk for cats is any more than it's clear what the risk is for humans. At this point, about 150 human cases of bird flu have been reported, which is not really a very high number, when you consider how many people in Asia must be exposed to infected birds. Tens of thousands of people have been exposed to those live birds, yet it doesn't seem a very common occurrence for people to get it. In the same vein, I would not expect it to be a common occurrence for cats to get it, either. The infection may cause illness or death in some cats, but I don't think anyone can predict at this point how frequently that would occur. There are still far more unanswered questions.

Q. How else could my cat get bird flu?
A. Presumably, the same as humans would get it - exposure to infected avian feces or avian respiratory droplets. So, a theoretical way would be if the cat picked up the virus on its paws, then licked its paws. Most infections are dose-dependent. In theory, a single virus particle could cause disease - in fact, though it is not likely to. Probably, a cat would have to ingest or inhale a pretty good dose to be affected. The more heavily exposed the cat or human would be, the more likely it is that transmission would occur. So, a cat is certainly far more likely to get it by eating the bird than simply being in proximity to it.

Q, Has any cat ever spread avian flu to people? Would it be theoretically possible for my cat to give me bird flu, whether through casual contact or perhaps while cleaning the litter box?
A. I am not aware of any transmission of avian flu from cats to people. The flu virus has to undergo appropriate mutation to get into different hosts. A strain that can infect a cat may not necessarily be able to infect a human being. I would not be surprised at all to hear of avian flu mutating to get into cats or people or swine. However, it would be unlikely for the virus to mutate in such a way as to be equally effective at getting into a wide range of hosts.

Q. How would I know if my cat had bird flu? What are thee symptoms, or is it too early to know?
A. I'm not familiar with the symptoms for domestic cats.

Q, Can bird flu be treated or cured in cats?
A. I have no knowledge of that. I don't know how much experimental work has been done. In theory, drugs such as Tamiflu should be helpful, but I know nothing about the inherent toxicity of that drug in hosts other than humans. Cats are very sensitive to some drugs that people can take. Whether cats would be adversely affected by Tamiflu, I have no idea. Also, no one knows what form the virus will ultimately take, so it's unknown whether Tamiflu would work. How can you predict the therapeutic effect of a given drug when you don't have the virus to test it on yet?

Q. What can I do to protect my cat?
A. Keep your cat indoors, so it doesn't attack birds. There is a lot of good rationale for doing that. Outdoor cats are much more likely to be hit by cars, to be bitten by rabid wildlife, to pick up toxoplasmosis, and to fight. Keep in mind, that various severe viral and bacterial infections in cats can be transmitted while fighting. All those problems would be greatly curtailed by keeping the cat indoors and safe from the dangers of the outdoors.

Q. How concerned should I be about my cat getting bird flu?
A. There does not seem to be any risk right now in the United States. However, we have to stay tuned to see if that changes. It is unpredictable how severe the problem ultimately could become.

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