Scientists in Poland have theorized that the consumption of uncooked poultry could have triggered the current unfold of the virus in cats
A gaggle of Polish scientists have claimed they might have hit on the trigger behind an avian flu outbreak in cats that has been puzzling pet-owners within the nation for a number of weeks. The viral illness, which is never noticed in felines, has already resulted within the dying of at the least 16 pets.
Taking to Twitter on Monday night, virologist Krzysztof Pyrc printed an announcement on the findings of analysis he carried out along with his colleagues.
“An evaluation has proven that meals is without doubt one of the possible routes of transmission of the pathogen,” he revealed. Pyrc added that he and his colleagues had requested the homeowners of the affected cats to ship samples of meat that they had fed to their pets.
“The evaluation confirmed that one of many 5 samples contained the virus,” the researcher mentioned. He added that a number of different components had led him to imagine that uncooked meat might be the supply of the outbreak. Pyrc cited the truth that the virus had emerged in each indoor and outside cats in numerous areas of the nation, with no signal of cat-to-cat transmission.
Pyrc, nevertheless, emphasised that his staff had no conclusive proof to again up his idea and that the meat could have been “contaminated by the homeowners, with the virus creating within the cat’s physique.”
Nonetheless, the virologists have known as on Poland’s veterinary and sanitary authorities to “contemplate the inclusion of meat for H5N1 testing,” warning that the virus may doubtlessly find yourself posing a menace to people as properly.
In the meantime, the nation’s Veterinary Institute confirmed, additionally on Monday, that the avian flu strains within the 9 confirmed instances have been all structurally related, as demonstrated by genomic sequencing.
“This means that feline H5N1 avian influenza viruses analyzed up to now originate from a single, unidentified supply,” the scientists concluded.
First stories of the outbreak started in mid-June, with cat homeowners describing extreme neurological and respiratory signs that might not go away after the administration of antibiotics or steroids. A number of dozen suspected instances of avian flu in cats have been reported since then.
The unfold of the virus in mammals that has been noticed in current months has the World Well being Group (WHO) apprehensive. Whereas solely a handful of human instances have been recorded up to now, the worldwide watchdog has expressed concern {that a} new pressure may ultimately emerge, able to human-to-human transmission, and urged “heightened vigilance” from all international locations.
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