Three more cats have died from H5N1 bird flu in the United States, one of which was a domestic cat with no ties to farms, according to state officials. It is now known that at least 10 cats have died since bird flu spread to dairy cows earlier this year.
Two of the cats were found dead on a dairy farm in Curry County, New Mexico, according to state veterinarian Dr. Samantha Uhrig. The farm’s cows also tested positive after workers noticed a drop in milk production.
The third case was reported in Yellowstone County, Montana, where a domestic cat exhibited “neurological signs” after the owner found a dead opossum on the property.
The cat was initially tested for rabies, but it was later discovered that the animal was infected with H5N1 bird flu. There were no ties to farms or dairy cows, state veterinarian Tahnee Szymanski told BNO News.
At least 10 cats in the United States have died from H5N1 bird flu since the virus was confirmed in dairy cows in late March. The actual number of infected barn cats may be higher due to limited testing.
The global spread of H5N1 subtype 2.3.4.4b – and the recent spread to an increasing number of mammals – has raised concerns about the possibility of human-to-human transmission from a future variant. So far, only a few human cases have been found after contact with infected birds or livestock.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in late March that bird flu had been found in unpasteurized milk from sick cows in Kansas and Texas, making these the first cases in cattle. Since then, the number of outbreaks on dairy farms has increased to 42 across 9 states and a farm worker in Texas has also tested positive.
On Friday, the U.S. government announced nearly $200 million in funding to combat the spread of H5N1 bird flu in dairy cows, including support for dairy farms, testing, vaccine development, surveillance and measures to ensure milk safety. commercial.
Cats are known to be highly vulnerable to this new strain of H5N1 bird flu. The first case in a cat with this variant was reported near a duck farm in southern France in December 2022, after which the animal was euthanized.
In 2023, nearly 40 cats died in two animal shelters in South Korea after eating contaminated cat food, and in Poland, more than a dozen cats died in an outbreak presumably caused by contaminated raw meat.
In the United States, at least 23 cats have been infected with H5N1 bird flu, including the 10 cases reported in recent weeks. The other 13 occurred last year in connection with infected poultry or wild birds.
