Is There a Link Between Cats and Bird Flu?    

After hearing about several cats that died in Thailand after contracting the bird flu, scientists held a study to see if cats can in fact contract the bird flu and spread it to other cats.

The first reports of cats being infected with bird flu occurred in 2003 and 2004 during the widespread outbreak in Southeast Asia resulting in 26 deaths among humans.

Prior to these reports, scientists believed that domestic cats were not at risk to contracting the bird flu. This discovery is troublesome because if a cat feeds on infected poultry it can potentially spread the virus to anyone or anything it comes in contact with including humans, other cats, and birds.

The findings of this study are very scary because it prevents the notion that the bird flu can be transmitted to other mammals that can in turn spread the virus even further.

During the study, scientists introduced three cats to the H5N1 strain through the airways. Then, they fed three more cats a chick infected with the H5N1 strain to see if cats could catch the virus in this way. I

n order to determine if infected cats could spread the virus to other cats, scientists placed two cats into the same cages of the original three cats.

The results of this study were unsettling. Every cat showed signs of the virus including raised body temperature and decreased activity. Every cat infected developed severe lung disease. The cats also contracted severe lesions on their bodies. One cat died within six days of being infected.

The scientists also noted that often a virus that could potentially cause mortality is usually not as severe when performed in a laboratory. This was not the case with the bird flu, as every cat was severely affected by the disease.

The results of this study have shown that it is possible for the bird flu to be transmitted from mammal to mammal, which was previously unknown.

In all cases of humans being infected with the bird flu it was contracted by contact with infected birds not between humans. This is a disturbing finding because it proves that cats may cause the virus to easily mutate to infect mammals more easily.

The H5N1 virus has actually increased its ability to infect cats, proving that it may be able to do this with other species.

While this study has shown what could happen, the virus has been unable to spread in this way in a natural situation. In order for this to occur a cat, after being infected with the virus, must be well enough that it can still travel but sick enough that the virus stays in its system and can spread to others.

The scientists who held this study are quick to point out that the risk of the virus being carried in cats and transmitted to other animals is still very small.

If cats were easily infected with the H5N1 strain from birds in a natural setting there would have been a much larger outbreak in cats throughout 2003 and 2004 when so many birds were infected with the virus.