2023-07-13 17:25:00
Cat and dog owners are called upon to be extra vigilant as cases of bird flu have been detected in pets in Europe.
The European health authority Efsa recommends this Thursday to strengthen the monitoring of possible contamination of cats and dogs by avian flu in areas where the virus circulates, following 24 cats tested positive in Poland.
The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed the day before its fear that the multiplication of cases of avian flu in mammals will help the virus to spread “more easily” to the human species.
The majority of wild mammals (foxes, weasels, otters, etc.) infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, are “carnivores that hunt wild birds, feed on animal carcasses, or both “, notes this Thursday the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa).
Cases of contamination in Europe
But more and more cases are observed in “domestic carnivores”, that is to say cats and dogs in contact with humans, who have been able to approach infected birds (wild birds or farmed poultry).
In recent weeks, the contamination of five dogs and a cat has been reported in Italy. But above all, 24 cases have been identified in domestic cats since June 10 in various regions of Poland.
The origin of their contamination has not yet been determined, one hypothesis being that they may have ingested raw poultry meat infected with the virus.
“A few” survived the virus, Efsa reported.
The cases in Polish cats and Italian dogs constitute a “new and unprecedented exposure in Europe” insofar as the animals and their owners were in close contact.
A case in a domestic cat was reported in France last January.
Stay away from birds
EFSA points out that pet owners are generally not aware that their cat or dog may be infected with avian flu, nor of the symptoms to watch for or of a “potential risk of transmission [du virus] themselves and family members.
The agency recommends increasing surveillance of virus manifestations among cats and dogs accustomed to wandering in risk areas, near infected poultry farms or in places where significant seagull mortalities have been observed. She insists on the need to keep these carnivores away from sick or dead animals (birds and mammals).
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