The World Well being Group (WHO) has introduced that Poland is the primary nation to report a major variety of cats contaminated with chicken flu throughout a large space and likewise the deaths associated to the lethal illness.
The WHO acknowledged on Monday that 29 cats in Poland have examined constructive for the H5N1 chicken flu virus since Polish well being authorities alerted them to uncommon cat deaths final month.
Out of the 46 cats and one captive caracal examined for the virus, 14 of the contaminated animals had been euthanised, whereas one other 11 died. The supply of the cats’ publicity to the virus is at present unknown, and investigations are ongoing to find out the trigger.
Europe has been going through its worst-ever outbreak of chicken flu since late 2021, with extreme outbreaks additionally occurring in North and South America. This has resulted within the culling of tens of millions of poultry worldwide, a lot of which had been contaminated with the H5N1 pressure that emerged in 1996. Not too long ago, there was a regarding improve in infections amongst mammals.
Whereas sporadic circumstances of cats being contaminated with H5N1 have been reported up to now, that is the primary occasion of a excessive variety of contaminated cats throughout a big geographic space inside a rustic, in line with the WHO.
As of July 12, no human contacts of the contaminated cats have reported any signs, and the surveillance interval for all contacts has been accomplished. The WHO emphasises that the danger of human an infection following publicity to contaminated cats is assessed as low for the overall inhabitants in Poland.
Nevertheless, for cat house owners, veterinarians, and others who might have common publicity to H5N1-infected cats with out utilizing private protecting tools, the danger is taken into account low to average.
Whereas chicken flu infections in people are uncommon, they will trigger extreme illness with a excessive mortality fee once they do happen.
Human circumstances of H5N1 are sometimes the results of direct or oblique publicity to contaminated stay or lifeless poultry or contaminated environments.
Since 2020, the WHO has obtained stories of 12 human H5N1 circumstances worldwide, with 4 being extreme circumstances and eight being gentle or asymptomatic.