BBC Cats may carry the bird flu virus

[Guest guest]

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>BBC DAILY E-MAIL: UK EDITION

>Friday, 03 September, 2004, 8:00 GMT 01:00 -07:00:US/Pacific

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>HEALTH

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> * Cats may carry the bird flu virus *

>

>The bird flu virus that can kill humans has the

>potential to be spread by cats, scientists have

>found.

>Full story:

>http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/health/3620532.stm

>

Cats may carry the bird flu virus

The bird flu virus that can kill humans has the

potential to be spread by cats, scientists have

found.

 

It had been thought that domestic cats were

resistant to diseases caused by influenza A

viruses - one of which, H5N1, is responsible for

avian flu.

 

The disease killed at least 20 people in Asia

earlier this year, and forced farmers to cull

almost 200m birds.

 

The research, by Erasmus Medical Center,

Rotterdam, is published in the journal Science.

 

The researchers warn that their findings may mean

that cats are a potential source of infection for

humans.

 

It also underlines the ability of the virus to evolve to infect new species.

 

H5N1 cannot currently pass from person to person,

but scientists fear that if the virus does

acquire this ability, it could pose a serious

threat to millions.

 

The Dutch team focused on cats after some

anecdotal reports emerged during the recent

outbreak linking the disease to the animals.

 

They investigated whether the virus could make

cats sick when it was introduced into the

airways, or when the cats ate infected chickens.

 

The six cats developed severe lung disease and

passed the disease onto two additional cats kept

in close quarters.

 

The authors also tested the effect of another

type of influenza virus, H3N2, that most commonly

causes flu in humans.

 

Cats exposed in the same way to this virus did not develop disease.

 

Writing in Science, the researchers say: " The

implications are that, during H5N1 virus

outbreaks, domestic cats are at risk of disease

or death from H5N1 virus infection, either due to

feeding on infected poultry or wild birds, or due

to contact with infected cats.

 

" Second, the role of cats in the spread of H5N1

virus between poultry farms, and from poultry to

humans needs to be re-assessed.

 

" Third, cats may form an opportunity for this

avian virus to adapt to mammals, thereby

increasing the risk of a human influenza

pandemic. "

 

Professor John Oxford, an expert in virology at

Queen Mary College, London, told BBC News Online

the study was " very significant and slightly

alarming " .

 

He said there was little evidence at present that

cats could be infected with other forms of human

flu virus, and so the possibility that H5N1 could

mix with a human virus inside a cat and produce a

deadly new strain was probably slim.

 

However, he agreed that it was possible that cats

could be responsible for avian flu spreading from

farm to farm - a phenomenon which has baffled

scientists.

 

Professor Oxford said there was also work to

suggest that pigs could be infected with H5N1,

and, unlike cats, they could also harbour human

versions of the virus.

 

" H5N1 is getting more and more worrisome, " he said.

 

" If any virus is going to cause a great human

pandemic in the near future, then it is likely to

be H5N1. "

 

 

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/3620532.stm

 

Published: 2004/09/02 23:00:11 GMT

 

© BBC MMIV

 

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