Keep cats away from contaminated duck farms.
Fin December, in Deux-Sèvres, a sick cat tested positive for the avian influenza virus highly pathogenic H5N1 (currently rife in poultry farms). The cat suffered from severe neurological symptoms due to the viral infection and had to be euthanized.
The sensitivity of cats to highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) is known since 2004 and has already been demonstrated in Thailand and Germany in 2006. This is the first time that such contamination has been observed in France.
The investigation of this case, in conjunction with the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), identified duck breeding neighbor as being source of contamination Of the cat [1]. Following this discovery, ANSES calls for vigilance, as the multiplication of viral transfers from birds to mammals could facilitate a possible transition to humans.
Following a mutation, the virus detected in this cat presented genetic characteristics of adaptation to mammals. The genetic investigations carried out by ANSES showed that only the cat carried this mutant virus, this mutation not being present, at this stage, in the ducks from the farm at the origin of the contamination.
Indeed, it should check that these phenomena remain sporadic and that the viruses which have acquired these capacities of passage to mammals are not detected in poultry farms.
Contamination of pets like the cat pcould facilitate the passage of the virus to humans. It is therefore essential to keep them away from infected farms and from euthanasia operations in contaminated duck homes.
As a reminder, he is From now on recommended for professionals exposed to swine and avian influenza viruses get vaccinated against the seasonal flu. Indeed, a simultaneous infection by an avian influenza virus and a human influenza virus could lead to the emergence of a new influenza virus potentially very contagious for humans.