Opinion: Herding cats: It’s past time to include pets in disease surveillance
These veterinarians, flu scientists, and biosecurity experts are watching with growing concern the rise in H5N1 avian influenza in cats.
As veterinarians, flu scientists, and biosecurity experts, we have watched with growing concern the rise in H5N1 avian influenza in cats. Since 2022, more than 100 domesticated cats in the United States have had confirmed infections — some house pets, some barn cats, some feral — with high mortality, although mortality data remain undocumented on federal sites. Contaminated raw milk and raw meat pet foods have been implicated in numerous cases, while others could be linked to exposure to wild birds. The virus has also killed great cats, at least 20 at a single sanctuary, cougars and bobcats among them.
Now, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Michigan health authorities sheds light on yet another possible source of the virus for cats: infected people. Investigators found the virus in two indoor cats living in the home of dairy workers. These cats had no known direct exposure to other sick animals. This suggests that human-to-cat spread has occurred, a development that is as unsurprising as it is concerning. We often think of zoonotic spillover as the movement of pathogens from animal to human, but it works both ways.
