More than half of cats around the first Texas dairy farm to test positive for bird flu this spring died after drinking raw milk from the infected cows, scientists reported this week, offering a window into a toll the virus has taken during its unprecedented spread through the cattle industry.
Cats at the Texas farm had been fed raw milk from cows that turned out to be infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI H5N1.
A day after the farm first started noticing cows were getting sick, the cats started getting sick too.
By the end, more than half of the cats had died.
“The cats were found dead with no apparent signs of injury and were from a resident population of [approximately] 24 domestic cats that had been fed milk from sick cows,” the scientists wrote.
Tests of the samples collected from the brains and lungs of dead cats yielded results suggesting “high amounts of virus.”
Officials have repeatedly urged Americans not to drink raw milk.
While the spread of the virus from cows to cats through raw milk is new, cats have long been known to scientists as one of the species especially vulnerable to severe disease from H5N1.
Scientists reported this week that more than half of the cats near the first Texas dairy farm to test positive for bird flu this spring passed away after consuming raw milk from the infected cows. This provides an insight into the toll the virus has taken during its unprecedented spread throughout the cattle industry.
The paper details the early research conducted by veterinary professionals and academic labs into a disease that began spreading among cows in the area earlier this year. It was published on Tuesday in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI H5N1,-infected cows’ raw milk was given to the cats at the Texas farm. The farm noticed that the cows were becoming ill a day later, and then the cats as well. More than half of the cats had passed away by the end.
“A resident population of [roughly] 24 domestic cats that had been fed milk from sick cows,” the scientists wrote, “were the cats from whence they were found dead with no obvious signs of injury.”.
The results of tests conducted on the samples taken from the lungs and brains of deceased cats indicated “high amounts of virus.”. In addition, autopsies on the cats’ eyes and brains showed “microscopic lesions consistent with severe systemic virus infection,” according to the report.
About 1 out of every 5 milk samples that the FDA examined came from the U.S. S. stores tested positive for H5N1, but according to agency reports from last week, pasteurization is effectively eliminating the virus in milk, leaving only safe pieces behind. Authorities have advised Americans against consuming raw milk on multiple occasions.
Although it is new that the virus can spread from cows to cats through raw milk, scientists have long known that cats are among the species most susceptible to serious illness caused by H5N1.
The US. S. According to the Department of Agriculture, cat fatalities and neurological illnesses have been “widely reported” in the vicinity of farms experiencing viral outbreaks.
However, in herds infected with the virus, only a small percentage of cows—up to 15%—showed symptoms of disease, according to the scientists. According to officials, cows that have infections usually recover within a month. After spreading from wild birds, the virus had a disastrous effect on chicken flocks, resulting in mass deaths or the need to cull the animals.
Previous studies have connected H5N1 infections to neurological disorders and death in domestic cats. An earlier Thai study, which was published in the CDC journal back in 2006, suggested that a cat may have caught the virus by eating an infected pigeon.
Yet, the CDC this month released new guidelines for veterinarians treating cats suspected of having H5N1, recommending more precautions such as wearing respirators and goggles to prevent infection due to the recent infections.
In its guidelines, the agency stated that “although it’s unlikely that people would become infected with bird flu viruses through contact with an infected wild, stray, feral, or domestic cat, it is possible — especially if there is prolonged and unprotected exposure to the animal.”.
Consumption of infected birds may have contributed to certain human cases, as was the case in Cambodia earlier this year.
Since a single initial spillover from wild birds earlier this year, it is thought that the virus has been spreading from cow to cow among dairy cattle. In the meantime, authorities are working quickly to stop this spread.
The scientists concluded that “the most likely initial source of infection in the dairy farms is presumed to be ingestion of feed contaminated with feces from wild birds infected with HPAI virus.”.
The USA. s. After an earlier order ramping up testing on dairy cattle being shipped over state lines, the Department of Agriculture announced on Monday that it would test ground beef sold at retailers for H5N1 and study how cooking beef could curtail potential risk posed by the virus.
It is unknown if any samples of ground beef have tested positive for the virus thus far. According to the spokesperson, results “are forthcoming” and will be released when they are.
In the meantime, the department has tested cattle for more than 2,000 different purposes this month.
“As of April 30, H5N1 had affected 34 dairy herds. For background, the number of dairy herds in the country is over 26,000,” the representative stated in a statement.
