Bird flu causes blindness in cats that drank milk from infected cows on a Texas dairy farm, sparking fears the virus is evolving
About 20 farm cats were struck by the H5N1 bird flu after drinking milk from infected cows, leaving some blind and killing more than half.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the cases this week, showing that at least 24 cats on a Texas farm had depressed mental states, body stiffness, loss of coordination, blindness, circling and excessive mucus from their eyes and experienced nose. .
A necropsy of the dead animals, some of which died within two days of becoming ill, revealed that the virus had spread to their lungs, brains, hearts and eyes.
Researchers say the Texas dairy farm infections raise more concerns about how bird flu evolves as it jumps from mammal to mammal.
Cats on a Texas dairy farm became ill after drinking milk from cows infected with H5N1, a bird flu.
Microscopic examination of cat tissue revealed the following: (A) inflammation and death of brain cells; (B) pneumonia and lung cell death; (C) inflammation and lesions in cardiac tissue; and (D) detached retinas in the eyes.
“Although it is unlikely that people will become infected with avian flu viruses through contact with an infected wild, stray, feral or domestic cat, it is possible – especially if there is prolonged and unprotected exposure to the animal,” the CDC said in the report. announcement.
“Sick animals can potentially transmit the influenza virus to humans through their saliva, feces or feces, and other bodily fluids.”
The CDC obtained the bodies of two cats, as well as samples of milk from the cows.
The agency also examined tissue samples from six of the cows that had died; three had been euthanized and three had died from their disease.
Tests showed that all animals were infected with H5N1 bird flu. Specifically, they had type 2.3.4.4b, a highly pathogenic variant that recently killed a dolphin in Florida.
In the cats, scientists found some hemorrhages in the back of their skulls, as well as brain hemorrhages. But otherwise the animals looked normal.
The study found that the cats had microscopic lesions in their brains, lungs and hearts.
Photos of the cats on the farm show the animals drinking milk from a designated bowl, but also directly from the cow.
After the cats’ deaths, the CDC also tested the cows, which also found puzzling symptoms.
Some of those who died produced normal milk before succumbing to illness, and some cows had small lesions in their mammary glands – an unusual symptom.
H5N1 has recently spread among livestock in the US.
The virus appears to spread from animal to species, but has not yet been shown to spread among humans.
Bird flu has been on the rise across the U.S. among cows and chickens, affecting animals on 29 farms in eight states, according to the CDC.
The situation has become so serious that Dr. Darin Detwiler, a former food safety advisor to the FDA and USDA, told DailyMail.com that Americans should avoid rare meats and runny noses while the outbreak in livestock continues, because improperly cooked animal products are more likely to contaminate touch. viruses and bacteria.
Bird flu A(H5N1) first emerged in 1996, but since 2020 the number of outbreaks in birds has grown exponentially, alongside an increase in the number of infected mammals.
The species has caused the deaths of tens of millions of poultry, also infecting wild birds, terrestrial and marine mammals.
Earlier this month, a Texas dairy farm worker became the second American ever to be infected with bird flu. The CDC says the patient had a “mild” infection with only one symptom — inflammation of the eye — and that he was isolated and “recovering well.”
When cows on the dairy farm got sick, the cats got sick a day later. More than half of the approximately 24 cats on one farm died within three days
They are also being treated with the drug oseltamivir, or Tamiflu, and are not believed to have passed the virus on to anyone else.
Dr. Wenqing Zhang, head of the WHO’s global flu program, said: “The Texas case is the first case of a human being infected with bird flu from a cow.”
There is no evidence that bird flu is spreading among humans.
But scientists and public health experts have expressed concern that this could happen.
Mutations in viral DNA can make it easier for a virus to switch hosts, as has happened in other viral pandemics such as COVID-19.
For now, experts recommend fully cooking chicken and beef products and absolutely avoiding raw (unpasteurized) milk.