# 553
The disclosure, last January, that significant numbers of cats in Indonesia carry antibodies to the H5N1 virus, raised quite a few eyebrows around the world. We knew, of course, that tigers fed infected poultry back in 2005 had been infected, and there had been scattered reports, mostly anecdotal, of other mammalian infections, but the numbers reported by Dr. C.A. Nidom were much higher than expected.
Of 500 cats tested, nearly 100 showed signs of previous infection or exposure to the bird flu virus.
I blogged extensively on this in January here, here, and here. In fact, a year ago, on March 5th, 2006 I wrote this blog regarding cat infections.
In Germany, a dead cat was found to be infected with H5N1. Not really surprising, as a couple of dozen tigers in the far east died after zoo keepers fed them infected chickens. But in France and Germany, the public is being advised to keep their cats indoors, their dogs on a leash, and not to allow cats to sleep in their beds.
Cat lovers by the hundreds are now dumping their beloved pets at shelters for `adoption or disposal'.
In Indonesia, infected birds are purportedly called `plop' by villagers, an onomatopoeic representation of the sound a bird makes when it falls from a tree, dead of bird flu. Cats infected by bird flu, reportedly scream when they fall from trees, and (so the story goes) are called `Arrrgh Plop' by the natives. Accurate or apocryphal, this story has been around for a couple of years.
The point being, we've known cats could acquire the virus for quite some time. Early on, one of the scientists warning us of the ramifications was Andrew Jeremijenko, who headed up the NAMRU influenza unit in Indonesia until a year ago.
Anytime an avian influenza virus expands its host range, particularly into mammals, it is a cause for concern. It is a sign of adaptation by the virus, and residing in a mammalian host, it increases the chances that it will pick up additional mutations that could make it more suitable for human-to-human transmission. And in the case of cats, which live in close proximity to mankind, it increases our odds of exposure.
The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) is about to undertake a major study of the problem, begining next month. This article, writen by Jason Gale and karima Anjani, is from Bloomberg.
Canary Gets Last Laugh: Study Probes Bird Flu in Cats (Update1)
By Jason Gale and Karima Anjani
March 8 (Bloomberg) -- Cats should think twice before they swallow the canary, say researchers studying if felines roaming the streets of Asia may increase the global threat of bird flu.
Domestic and stray cats that prey on birds in Southeast Asia may play a critical role in transforming avian influenza into a global pandemic, virus-tracking scientists say.
To investigate this, researchers next month will begin the world's largest examination of bird flu in stray cats in Indonesia, where a survey found one in five felines carry the lethal H5N1 virus in some areas. Cats, because of their close interactions with humans, may provide a conduit for the transmission of the flu between birds and people.
``Cats eat birds and therefore can become infected by this virus and help it to mutate and adapt'' to mammals, said Andrew Jeremijenko, who headed an influenza surveillance project for the Naval American Medical Research Unit in Indonesia until last March. ``Maybe there is a role that cats are playing and we don't understand it yet.''
Avian-flu experts have long viewed pigs as the mammals in which a pandemic virus may emerge because the farm animals can catch versions of flu that infect birds and humans. As a host for both types of the flu, pigs are one of several species in which the viruses combine and mutate, acquiring properties that make each year's seasonal flu different from the year before.
For the cat study, scientists led by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization will examine feline habits and collect blood samples to test for exposure to the H5N1 virus. Disease trackers aim to collect data during the next three months, with preliminary results collated soon after, said John Weaver, a senior adviser with the agency in Jakarta.
This is just a small snippet of a much larger article, and the entire story is worth reading.
Last December, the South Koreans received some negative publicity when it was disclosed that they were culling cats within the exclusion zone around bird flu outbreaks, as well as fowl. While this is a distressing step, particularly to cat lovers, there is mounting evidence that cats may indeed be part of the chain of infection.
The H5N1 virus continues to surprise us. It doesn't conform to the rules as we know them, and battling it will require more research and decisive, and oft times, unpleasant action.
This study by the FAO is an important step towards our understanding of this viral threat.
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