People can get bird flu from their cats, CDC study suggests

USA Today

20-02-2025

People can get bird flu from their cats, CDC study suggests
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New deadly bird flu strain emerges
As the bird flu continues to spread across the country, there's new evidence it's mutating beyond chickens and cows.
Fox - Seattle
Bird flu may be spreading between people and cats more than previously thought, a new federal study said.
The findings published Thursday by the Centers Disease Control and Prevention's weekly journal add to worries about the spread of bird flu between people and cats, and vice versa. Bird flu has been known to cause severe illness and deaths in cats, often through raw food or milk or dead birds. However, the study provides growing evidence of the threat it poses even when cats have no direct exposure to sick dairy cows or poultry.
The study looked at indoor cats who had severe illness and death in two Michigan households of two dairy workers around May where bird flu was circulating on farms. Both lived in the same county, and both took sick cats to the Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center.
The two cats that died, one in each household, appeared to have the same signs of respiratory and neurologic illness, according to the study, published by CDC researchers, as well as health and agriculture officials from Michigan and Michigan State University. The cats later tested positive for bird flu, also called highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The first household's cat, the 5-year-old female, was euthanized four days after signs of illness, and the second household's cat, the 6-month-old Maine Coon cat, died within a day of illness showing.
People in the homes also displayed symptoms of illness. Neither worker in each household received testing or antiviral medication for bird flu, and the second worker feared losing employment as a consequence of speaking with public health officials and implicating farms that provided milk, the study said.
This finding raises concern about surveillance and public health protocols to adequately identify bird flu circulating. Researchers also noted the study illustrates concerns about bird flu continuing to mutate to increase the risk for transmission to and among humans, which has not been the case to date. So far, nearly 70 people have contracted bird flu, mostly among dairy and poultry workers, and one person has died, according to CDC.
The study also appears to be the same that had a graphic released on CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) before it was abruptly taken down earlier this month, as the New York Times reported. Since President Donald Trump has taken office, there have been delays in releasing MMWR reports, considered an eminent scientific publication for researchers around the world, amid cuts to health agencies.
The first worker, who didn't directly work with animals but worked on the farm, would remove work clothes and boots and place them in an area away from the household's indoor cats. In the first household, the worker lived with another adult and two adolescents, along with the sickened 5-year-old female cat and two other indoor cats.
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A day before the 5-year-old female cat would get sick, the worker had one day of vomiting and diarrhea. One adolescent in the household developed cough, sore throat, headache and muscle aches and pain six days after the 5-year-old cat had become sick. Three of the household members tested negative for influenza, but the sickened adolescent had a positive lab result for rhinovirus/enterovirus, or cold, which is different than bird flu. The dairy worker had regular contact with the sick 5-year-old cat and the sick adolescent.
Four days after the 5-year-old cat became sick, another cat had watery eyes and discharge, increased breathing and decreased appetite, though these resolved four days later. The third cat never showed signs and tested negative.
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Meanwhile, the second worker transported raw milk and reported that their job frequently had raw milk splash exposure to face, eyes and clothing without personal protective equipment. The worker would bring work clothes indoors, where one indoor cat would roll in the clothes. The worker did experience eye irritation two days before illness showed in the indoor cat.
The second household had the second worker, the 6-month-old male cat, and a second indoor cat. The second indoor cat didn't show signs of illness and nasal swabs tested negative for virus.
The study calls for increased consideration by veterinarians for pet owners' occupational information, as well as testing for influenza viruses, and wearing PPE.