Can cats get avian influenza?Increased threat

global outbreak H5N1 Avian InfluenzaThe virus, which has already been devastating to wild birds and poultry, is now moving on to mammals, bringing it one step closer to a possible outbreak in humans.

Of course, since the coronavirus pandemic has taught us the importance of responding to outbreaks early and proactively… sorry, I’m kidding, We don’t seem to have learned much from the COVID-19 outbreak. This isn’t funny.

Not enough is being done to combat the out-of-control H5N1 outbreak on fur farms Finland Or a mysterious outbreak among domestic cats Poland.

Finland, one of Europe’s largest fur producers, is battling a domestic outbreak Mink, fox and puppy Raccoons are bred in captivity, and scientists warn that this species is more likely to produce a variant that can infect humans, leading to human outbreaks.

Even the Finnish Food Administration noted in its announcement about animal culling that mink are susceptible to human and avian influenza. If an animal is infected with both diseases at the same time, Viruses can mix genes and causes avian influenza that can infect humans. However, Finnish fur farms are not closing. Instead, the Finnish Wildlife Service allows fur farmers to kill wild birds in large numbers near their farms. The agency said the cull was aimed at “preventing contact between infected birds and animals on fur farms,” ​​but scientists said it was a misguided and potentially unhelpful approach, and more fur in Finland has since A new outbreak has been declared at the breeding farm.

At the same time, authorities stated that Large-scale outbreak of H5N1 influenza among domestic cats in Poland This summer, it killed at least 29 animals, although cat owners have listed as many as 89 sick animals. This outbreak has a number of unusual features that make it particularly concerning, but there is still no precise explanation of how it occurred and no active investigation.

Affected cats live in different parts of Poland, but their viruses have almost identical genetic sequence. Obviously they can’t infect each other. Wild birds are unlikely to be the source of infection, especially since some cats never go outside and no outbreaks have been detected in neighboring Poland.Obviously, this outbreak has its impact origin in Poland.

Scientists and cat owners are skeptical of cat food.

Furthermore, all sick cats in Poland were infected with the virus. Two specific genetic mutations They are found almost exclusively in mammals, so either all cats were infected and their viruses independently developed these mutations, or both mutations were already present in the virus that infected them.

Tom Peacock studies bird flu at the institute Imperial College Londonexplained to me that the most likely scenario is Cats eat meat from sick mammals Or poultry meat, where the virus has somehow produced these mutations that are typically associated with mammalian adaptations.

Either of these options is alarming, and we still lack answers as to how all these geographically dispersed cats became infected with H5N1.

Polish scientists were only able to test five food samples, and one of them (chicken intended for human consumption but also fed to cats) came back positive for H5N1. However, as the scientific report points out, this is only a sample that could have been contaminated after the animals became sick at home.

H5N1 was also recently detected in two cat shelters Seoul, Korea. Authorities suspected the source was cat food and recalled two varieties of one brand. While research there may yield some answers, the situation is different than in Poland because Korean cats live in the same place.

It is necessary to carry out Extensive testing throughout the food chain to determine the actual source. However, authorities have not yet provided information to the public if such an investigation is ongoing in Poland.

Poland is the largest poultry exporter to the European Union (EU), Therefore, anything involving the poultry food chain is economically worrisome. Poland is also the largest mink farm operator in the EU. An obvious concern is whether mink can become infected with the H5N1 virus, and whether mink meat could somehow contaminate the food chain and end up in the hands of cats.

Unfortunately, however, Poland’s mink farms have become embroiled in the country’s culture wars. Although the ban has widespread support, a previous attempt to ban mink farms in 2020 nearly brought down the government. The far right in particular has mobilized against it. Members of the family that controls the vast majority of Poland’s mink farms say the proposed ban is supported by “the same people who promote LGBT, same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia, etc.” The Conservative government backed down.

This short-sightedness is not a monopoly of the far right. In the United States, a provision passed by the House of Representatives banning mink farming was repealed in a bipartisan effort in the Senate: Many Democratic senators joined Republican Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a state where many senators still operate mink farming . mink farmfor Remove ban from legislation.

Maybe Poland did a great job preventing mink outbreaks. But it’s possible you might not notice them at all, even without looking closely. A mink epidemic broke out in Spain last year Studies show that H5N1 is less lethal to mink than poultry (it can kill 80 to 90 percent of infected animals), so outbreaks may go unnoticed unless there is adequate surveillance. Such a mild outbreak could trigger a pandemic because it may be harder to detect in the early stages.

Fur-bearing animals such as mink and foxes are carnivorous mammals that usually hunt alone.Confining them in a small space not only fueling epidemicsbut extremely cruel.

These furry species are highly susceptible to many human respiratory diseases, not just H5N1. At the end of 2020, Denmark (the largest mink breeder in the world at the time) could not accommodate COVID-19 outbreak on their farm Despite these efforts, we are finding that minks are generating new variants that infect humans. Alarmed, Denmark suspended its mink farms but is now allowing them to restart operations.

We should outlaw cruel, dangerous and unnecessary fur farms and increase monitoring and reporting requirements for mammalian H5N1 outbreaks.

Paying fur producers in Europe and the United States may be cheaper than dealing with a human outbreak, especially since the industry is already shrinking naturally. Challis Hobbs, executive director of the American Fur Council, the association representing mink farmers, told Roll Call that the number of operating farms has dropped from 257 to 100 as consumers move away from fur. . China also operates fur farms but could seek an international agreement to tighten monitoring and even potentially impose a global ban.

Furthermore, situations like the Polish Mystery Cat should not have happened without a thorough, transparent investigation.

As we unfortunately discovered, borders and jurisdictions are Viruses don’t care about subtletiesbut the lessons across the globe remain ignored.

*This article originally appeared in The New York Times

* Zeynep Tufekci is a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University, author of “Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Online Protest,” and an opinion columnist for The New York Times.

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