Experts have warned that bird flu in domestic cats could transmit into humans, sparking public health concerns.
According to Real Clear Science, more than 80 house cats have been detected with the bird flu since 2022, but in the current outbreak of the H5N1 virus, a growing number of cats caught the virus.
Usually, cats that live on farms or cats that spend time outside the house have a higher risk of getting viruses from wild birds and hunting diseased rodents, but now the cats have also caught the virus after eating raw food or drinking unpasteurised milk.
Virologist Angela Rasmussen, who studies disease progression in emerging viruses at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organisation, said, “Companion animals, and especially cats, are 100% a public health risk in terms of the risk of zoonotic transmission to people.”
The experts explained that there is a risk of public health due to cats with viruses because people snuggle with them and sleep with them.Rasmussen emphasised that cat owners need to be aware of the fact that “by reducing the risk to your cats, you reduce the risk to yourself.”
Furthermore, the current variant of the virus does not spread from person to person, and there is no evidence of cat-to-human transmission, but the concern has always been there.
