Millions of stray cats across the country are at risk of bird flu

Stray cats are at risk when the current bird flu outbreak continues to spread.

The bird flu outbreak, which began in January 2022, has affected over 166 million chickens, turkeys and other birds, including wild, commercial and garden flocks in all 50 states, according to Center for disease control and prevention. It has also spread to dairy cows, which were discovered after fragments of the virus were discovered in samples of milk.

The American veterinary association Now issues a warning that the cats are infected with bird flu.

Health officials warn that cats can get bird flu if they eat infected birds, drink unpasteurized milk, eat raw pet food or spend time in areas where other animals are infected with the virus. Stray Cats runs higher risk as they spend more time outdoors and often hunt and eat wild birds.

Symptoms in cats include fever, low appetite, lethargy, red or inflamed eyes, discharge from eyes and nose and difficulty breathing. Infected cats can also show neurological signs, such as shaking, cramps, storage or blindness.

“Cats appear to be particularly susceptible to serious illness, which often results in death,” according to Appma. “Whether infected cats can infect other cats is currently unclear; However, this possibility cannot be dismissed. ”

“The risk of transferring cat-to-human being is considered extremely low, but may increase with prolonged, unprotected exposure to infected animals,” the association.

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Although it is very unlikely for people to suffer from cats from cats at this time, the owners are still encouraged to take precautions when exposed to some infected animals.

“Given the number of cats in the United States and close contact with people, there is definitely a need to understand the potential risk,” Dr. Diego Diel, veterinarian and virologist at Cornell University, New York Times.

In addition, officials still claim that they have not seen any evidence of the transfer of people to human to human.

“There is no transmission of people who really occur. A very small, very small proportion of people even risk being infected,” Dr. Joseph Khabbaza, critical care and pulmonology at Cleveland Clinic, formerly to People.

The The World Health Organization Previously, the current outbreak called a “significant public health problem.” In April 2024, the agency confirmed The first person to die from this tribe of bird flu in Mexico.

In addition, the United States announced in January that the first death linked to the bird flu has occurred in Louisiana.

But who currently not lists Bird Influence outbreak as a global health frequency.