Can cats get bird flu?increased threat

global outbreak Avian influenza H5N1The virus, already devastating to wild birds and poultry, has now continued to spread to mammals, bringing it one step closer to a potential human outbreak.

Of course, as the coronavirus pandemic has taught us the importance of responding early and aggressively to outbreaks…sorry, I was kidding, We don’t seem to have learned much from the outbreak of the new crown epidemic. It’s not funny.

Not enough is being done to deal with out-of-control H5N1 outbreaks on fur farms Finland or mysterious outbreaks in domestic cats Poland.

Finland, one of Europe’s largest fur producers, is battling an outbreak at home Mink, fox and puppy Captive raccoons, a species that scientists warn are more likely to develop a variant that can infect humans, could lead to human outbreaks.

Even the Finnish Food Administration pointed out in its bulletin about animal slaughter that mink are susceptible to human and bird flu infections. If an animal is infected with both diseases at the same time, Viruses can mix genes and cause bird flu that can infect humans. However, fur farms in Finland are not closing. Instead, the Finnish Wildlife Service allows fur farmers to hunt large numbers of wild birds near their farms. The agency said the culling was authorized “to prevent contact between infected birds and animals on fur farms,” ​​but scientists said it was wrong and likely futile, and more fur farming in Finland has since A new outbreak was announced.

At the same time, the authorities stated Massive H5N1 Influenza Outbreak in Polish Domestic Cats It has killed at least 29 animals this summer, though cat owners have listed as many as 89 sick animals. The outbreak has many unusual features that make it particularly worrisome, but exactly why it occurred has yet to be explained or actively investigated.

The affected cats live in different parts of Poland, but their virus has been almost identical gene sequence. Obviously they cannot infect each other. Wild birds are an unlikely source of infection, especially since some of the cats never go outside, and no outbreak has been seen in neighboring Poland.Clearly, this outbreak has had its impact origin in Poland.

Scientists and cat owners are skeptical of cat food.

Furthermore, the virus from all sick cats in Poland two specific gene mutations They are found almost exclusively in mammals, so either all cats are infected and their virus then produces these mutations independently, or both mutations are already present in whatever infects them.

Tom Peacock studies bird flu at the institute Imperial Collegewhich explained to me that the most likely scenario is Cats will eat the meat of sick mammals Or poultry, where the virus somehow produces these mutations that are normally associated with mammalian adaptation.

Both options are staggering, and we’re still missing answers about how all these geographically dispersed cats got infected with H5N1.

Scientists in Poland were only able to test five food samples, and only one of them (chicken intended for human consumption, which was also fed to cats) was found to be positive for H5N1. However, as Scientific Reports points out, this is just a sample of the possible contamination of animals after they become ill at home.

H5N1 has also been recently detected in two cat shelters Seoul, Korea. Authorities suspected cat food was the source and recalled two breeds of one brand from the market. While research there may yield some answers, the situation is not the same as in Poland because Korean cats live in the same place.

It is necessary to implement Extensive testing throughout the food chain to determine the actual source. However, authorities have yet to provide the public with any information if such an investigation is underway in Poland.

Poland is the largest poultry exporter in the European Union (EU), So anything that touches the poultry food chain has economic implications. Poland is also the largest operator of mink farms in the EU.. An obvious concern is whether mink are infected with the H5N1 virus, and whether the mink meat will somehow contaminate the food chain and eventually be transmitted to cats.

Unfortunately, however, Poland’s mink farms have become embroiled in the country’s culture wars. While the ban has broad support, an attempt to ban mink farms earlier in 2020 nearly brought down the government. The far right in particular was mobilized against it. Members of the family that controls the vast majority of mink farms in Poland say the proposed ban is supported by the same group who “advocate LGBT, same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia and more”. The Conservative government made concessions.

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

Perhaps Poland has done an excellent job of preventing mink outbreaks. But maybe you don’t even notice them, and it’s possible without looking closely. Mink outbreak in Spain last year H5N1 has proven less lethal to mink than to poultry (it can kill 80-90% of infected animals), so outbreaks may go undetected unless there is adequate surveillance. Such a mild outbreak could lead to a pandemic because the early stages can be harder to detect.

Fur animals such as minks and foxes are carnivorous mammals that usually hunt alone.Locking them in a small space not only fueling the epidemicbut particularly cruel.

These furry species are highly susceptible to many human respiratory diseases, not just H5N1. At the end of 2020, Denmark (then the largest mink farmer in the world) could not contain There was a new crown pneumonia outbreak on their farm Despite many efforts, we have discovered that mink are producing new variants that infect humans. Shocked, Denmark has suspended its mink farms but is now allowing them to restart operations.

We should ban cruel, dangerous and unnecessary fur farming and strengthen surveillance and reporting requirements for H5N1 outbreaks in mammals.

It may be cheaper to pay fur farmers in Europe and the US than to deal with a human outbreak, especially since the industry has naturally shrunk. Challis Hobbs, executive director of the American Fur Council, an association representing mink farmers, told Roll Call that as consumers move away from buying fur, about 100 farms are operating, up from 257. increased to 100. China also operates fur farms, but could seek an international agreement to increase surveillance and possibly even impose a global ban.

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

As we have unfortunately discovered, borders and jurisdictions are The subtleties that viruses don’t care aboutbut the lessons remain unheeded globally.

*This article was originally published 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 Vulnerability of Online Protest,” and an opinion columnist for The New York Times

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