Health officials in Los Angeles are investigating three domestic cats believed to have bird flu, while officials confirmed the disease in two other cats that drank raw milk and died.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed two fatal cases of H5 bird flu in cats on Wednesday. The two cats had consumed raw milk linked to Raw Farm, a dairy in Fresno, California, that was subject to a recall of raw milk and cream products last month.
The two cats initially showed loss of appetite, fever and neurological symptoms. When their symptoms worsened, they tested positive for influenza A, a rare rash in cats, which was later confirmed as H5 bird flu.
The three cats that may now also be infected with bird flu all lived in the same household, according to authorities. People who have come into contact with the animals are now being monitored for symptoms. Cats are considered highly susceptible to bird flu.
At a dairy plant in Texas earlier this year12 barn cats died after drinking infected raw milk.
But the three sick cats in Los Angeles are not known to have consumed raw milk and other sources of infection, including raw meat, are being investigated. The alert noted that cats have been known to transmit another strain of influenza to humans, but there have been no known cases of H5 bird flu transmitted from cats to humans to date.
“The risk of H5 bird flu remains low in Los Angeles County, but these confirmed cases of the virus in domestic cats remind us that consuming raw dairy and meat products can lead to serious illness in cats,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said in a statement.
“To prevent the spread of disease, including H5 bird flu, we strongly encourage residents and their pets to avoid raw dairy and undercooked meat products, limit contact with sick or dead animals, report sick or dead birds and keep pets and poultry away from wildlife. animals and birds,” Ferrer added.
The report of cats infected with bird flu comes as California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as the bird flu virus moved from the Central Valley to dairy herds in Southern California.
On Wednesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case of severe bird flu in a 65-year-old patient with underlying medical conditions in Louisiana.
The patient is in critical condition in a hospital after suffering a serious respiratory illness linked to a bird flu infection. The patient is the first case of human bird flu in the U.S. linked to exposure to backyard flocks that may have been infected by migratory birds.
Genomic data showed the Louisiana patient was infected with a version of the virus that recently spread among wild birds and poultry in the U.S., and was also found in some human cases in Canada and Washington state, the CDC said .
This version of the H5N1 virus is different from the virus circulating in dairy cattle and some poultry populations in the US. So far, more than 846 herds of cattle in 16 US states have been affected, disrupting milk supplies.
But the H5N1 infection of cats is alarming to virus experts; a new study found that cat cells allow viruses to mix and mutate, potentially creating a bridge that allows H5N1 bird flu to mutate and jump to humans.
A study published in the academic journal Emerging Microbes & Infections found that cats, like pigs, had cellular receptors that allowed them to act as “mixing vessels for the reassortment of avian and mammalian influenza viruses.”
In addition, cats that had recently died from H5N1 bird flu were found to have “unique mutations” that indicated “potential virus adaptation.”
“Continued exposure, viral circulation, and adaptation of the H5N1 virus in cats pose significant transmission and public health concerns,” the authors of the University of Pittsburgh report said.
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Cats, they added, often interact with humans and other species and could therefore “serve as a bridge for interspecies transmission of H5N1 viruses.”
In April, Maryland’s School of Public Health warned that a review of the scientific literature shows that domestic cats can contract bird flu and transmit it to humans and that this should be monitored.
“As companion animals, domestic cats represent a potential route for avian flu viruses to pass to humans,” said Kristen Coleman, an assistant professor at the school.
So far, there have been 61 human cases of bird flu in the U.S. since April, according to the CDC. The patients had often been in contact with infected livestock or livestock.
Before the Louisiana patient, cases were mild and the patients had all recovered after receiving antiviral medication, the CDC and state health officials said. One previous case in Missouri ended in hospitalization.
In addition to the Louisiana case, Delaware recently reported a probable H5N1 case that was discovered through routine flu surveillance by the state.
As far as we know, the infected person has not had contact with sick animals. The CDC was unable to confirm the type of influenza A virus after multiple tests and has classified it as a “probable case.”
In Los Angeles, public health officials “strongly encourage residents to avoid consuming raw milk and not feeding it to their pets.”
They also advised people to limit unprotected contact with sick or dead animals or birds or material contaminated with bird feces, keep pets or poultry away from wildlife and birds, and remove bird feeders and baths “to reduce the risk that the virus spreads from bird to bird.”