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Most of those who died did not have access to wild birds and one possible cause of the outbreak is raw chicken contaminated with the H5N1 virus eaten by the animals
Bird flu has killed 25 domestic cats in Poland in the latest outbreak of the virus affecting animals, the World Health Organisation has announced.
Eleven died due to symptoms of avian influenza, including pneumonia and neurological side-effects, while 14 had to be put down after contracting the virus.
The cases were spread over a wide geographical area of the eastern European country last month, the WHO said.
While details of the outbreak had previously been reported, the scale of fatalities has only now come to light.
Public health officials are investigating the cause of the outbreak, but one line of inquiry is that the cats were fed with raw chicken contaminated with the H5N1 virus, sources have told i.
Other possible causes include the cats eating infected wild birds. But only seven out of 29 cats who tested positive for bird flu came into contact with wild birds, and five were indoor cats who had no contact with the outside environment, suggesting the source was from contaminated food.
Only two of those affected were outdoor cats, and 18 were classed as indoor with access to a balcony, terrace, or backyard.
Last week a joint statement by WHO, the United Nations and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) warned that an “alarming rise” in outbreaks of bird flu in mammals was putting the human population at increasing risk.
In its latest update on the outbreak in cats, WHO said the risk to the general public in Poland from avian influenza was low, while the risk to cat-owners and those exposed to H5N1 through their work, such as vets, was low to moderate.
None of the cat owners or other people who came into contact with the animals have reported symptoms of bird flu.
Public health authorities in Poland informed WHO on 27 June of an unusually high number of deaths in cats across the country.
Samples were taken from 46 domestic cats and one captive caracal, a wild cat from Africa. Of those, 29 tested positive for bird flu. The last death reported was on 30 June.
WHO said while sporadic infection of H5N1 in cats has previously been reported, this is the first report of high numbers of infected cats over a wide geographical area within a country.
Some of the infected cats developed severe symptoms including difficulty in breathing, bloody diarrhoea, and neurological signs, with rapid deterioration and death in some cases, WHO said.
In total, 20 cats had neurological signs, 19 had respiratory signs, and 17 had both neurological and respiratory signs.
Analysis of samples taken from the cats showed the virus genomes were “highly related” to each other.
Courtesy of inews.co.uk
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