Cat dies of H5N1 in Germany

[Quillan]

News at 10 tonight, cat dies of H5N1 in Germany, the first step towards humans from birds they said. Bet the vets is packed tomorrow with people demanding jabs for their cats and dogs, lets not forget the dogs.

[Dick Smith]

But many people have already caught the disease directly from birds, the danger comes if it mutates and can be spread from human to human, which hasn't happened yet. Or cat to cat.

[adrianpmills]

I think the point is that if cats and dogs become infected, then humans stand more chance of catching it from them, rather than directly from birds.  The more humans catch it the more chance the virus then has of mutating and passing between humans..

[ChezShells]

Doh

Noticed some feathers outside our front door today and the cat sat there cleaning himself!!

[Dick Smith]

The point I was trying to make was that we don't know if the cat caught bird flu or if there is a mutated strain that moves from cat to cat. Cat flu, I suppose. If the virus is mutating that is more dangerous.

[andyh4]

Dick is absolutely right on this.

Cats eat birds, birds (some) have bird flu - hence cat gets H5N1 - not necessarily because the virus has in any way mutated. 

 

My worry is that cats usually take smaller birds rather than large waterfowl (even sick ones), so does this mean that H5N1 is now at large in the general wild bird population?

 

 

[Lori]

I don't want to sound panicky, but if the virus can be spread from

contact with the droppings of sick birds, what is to stop the birds

leaving their infected droppings on open vegetable gardens or the

like?  I realize we wash our fresh vegetables, but we do handle

them in washing them...

I have, all along, worried about our dog.  He loves being outside

in the garden and often chases birds.  Perhaps all this hoopla is

getting to the brain cells...

[The Riff-Raff Element]

The spread from bird to cat has happened before (Thailand lost dozens

of zoo-bound big cats because some genius fed them the carcasses of flu

ridden chickens). Again, intimate contact is needed with uncooked

infected meat & offal for this to be a real danger. The mutation

route from cat to human is unlikely - we are not that similar, and cat

flu does not spread to humans as a rule.

As far as droppings are concerned - the virus particles need to stay

most to stay viable. In cool moist chicken manure they could survive

for (perhaps) weeks. In a little bit of dried out white stuff there is

unlikely to be any danger. Wearing gloves when gardening (which is

never a bad idea - tetenus and toxioplasmosis spring to mind) and

washing of hands & produce I would have thought would be quite

adequate.

[Dick Smith]

A cat might not predate a duck, but it would certainly scavenge one. There might be a similar spread of disease with foxes.

[Viv]

Lori,

I always wash salad vegetables in a dilution of the sterilising liquid or tablets that are used for babies bottles, and then rinse off in clean water. It doesn't affect the taste at all.

There seems to be far more  "economy " chicken ( which I never buy anyway) on sale in our local supermarket but they are still asking pre outbreak prices!

[Viv]

[quote user="andyh4"]

Dick is absolutely right on this.

Cats eat birds, birds (some) have bird flu - hence cat gets H5N1 - not necessarily because the virus has in any way mutated. 

 

[/quote]

But we humans eat birds too , I know that we cook them but we handle the raw meat. How can we be sure it is still safe to do so? Cearly still very  little is known about this virus, especially how it mutates.

[Weedon]

Someone has to say it................What a catastrophe

weedon

[SaligoBay]

Well said, Weedon.

There was a point when AIDS was "only a few people", nothing to worry about.  Then it was "only" gay men, still nothing to worry about, then.   And oops, look where we are now!

Nobody knows what could happen with this one.  It could do the rounds and disappear again, or it could be here to stay.

I bought a "mass-produced" roast chicken the other day.  Disappointingly it tasted just as good as the twice-the-price poulet fermier.

 

[Brilec]

[quote user="Weedon"]

Someone has to say it................What a catastrophe

weedon

[/quote]

Surely that can only be the case if you then get the head mounted on a plaque?

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="Weedon"]

Someone has to say it................What a catastrophe

weedon

[/quote]

No. This is just an irritation at the moment. If it combines and

mutates, and retains it's extremely pathogenic nature in a form that is

communicable in humans, then that would be a good time to panic. I know I will be.[:S]

The current WHO assessment of the situation viz bird to human transmission is as follows:

THE DISEASE IN HUMANS

History and epidemiology.

Influenza viruses are normally highly species-specific, meaning that

viruses that infect an individual species (humans, certain species of

birds, pigs, horses, and seals) stay “true” to that species, and only

rarely spill over to cause infection in other species. Since 1959,

instances of human infection with an avian influenza virus have been

documented on only 10 occasions. Of the hundreds of strains of avian

influenza A viruses, only four are known to have caused human

infections: H5N1, H7N3, H7N7, and H9N2. In general, human infection

with these viruses has resulted in mild symptoms and very little severe

illness, with one notable exception: the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.

Of all influenza viruses that circulate in birds, the H5N1 virus is of

greatest present concern for human health for two main reasons. First,

the H5N1 virus has caused by far the greatest number of human cases of

very severe disease and the greatest number of deaths. It has crossed

the species barrier to infect humans on at least three occasions in

recent years: in Hong Kong in 1997 (18 cases with six deaths), in Hong

Kong in 2003 (two cases with one death) and in the current outbreaks

that began in December 2003 and were first recognized in January 2004.

A second implication for human health, of far greater concern, is the

risk that the H5N1 virus – if given enough opportunities – will develop

the characteristics it needs to start another influenza pandemic. The

virus has met all prerequisites for the start of a pandemic save one:

an ability to spread efficiently and sustainably among humans. While

H5N1 is presently the virus of greatest concern, the possibility that

other avian influenza viruses, known to infect humans, might cause a

pandemic cannot be ruled out.

The virus can improve its transmissibility among humans via two

principal mechanisms. The first is a “reassortment” event, in which

genetic material is exchanged between human and avian viruses during

co-infection of a human or pig. Reassortment could result in a fully

transmissible pandemic virus, announced by a sudden surge of cases with

explosive spread.

The second mechanism is a more gradual process of adaptive mutation,

whereby the capability of the virus to bind to human cells increases

during subsequent infections of humans. Adaptive mutation, expressed

initially as small clusters of human cases with some evidence of

human-to-human transmission, would probably give the world some time to

take defensive action, if detected sufficiently early.

During the first documented outbreak of human infections with H5N1,

which occurred in Hong Kong in 1997, the 18 human cases coincided with

an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, caused by a virtually

identical virus, in poultry farms and live markets. Extensive studies

of the human cases determined that direct contact with diseased poultry

was the source of infection. Studies carried out in family members and

social contacts of patients, health workers engaged in their care, and

poultry cullers found very limited, if any, evidence of spread of the

virus from one person to another. Human infections ceased following the

rapid destruction – within three days – of Hong Kong’s entire poultry

population, estimated at around 1.5 million birds. Some experts believe

that that drastic action may have averted an influenza pandemic.

All evidence to date indicates that close contact with dead or sick

birds is the principal source of human infection with the H5N1 virus.

Especially risky behaviours identified include the slaughtering,

defeathering, butchering and preparation for consumption of infected

birds. In a few cases, exposure to chicken faeces when children played

in an area frequented by free-ranging poultry is thought to have been

the source of infection. Swimming in water bodies where the carcasses

of dead infected birds have been discarded or which may have been

contaminated by faeces from infected ducks or other birds might be

another source of exposure. In some cases, investigations have been

unable to identify a plausible exposure source, suggesting that some as

yet unknown environmental factor, involving contamination with the

virus, may be implicated in a small number of cases. Some explanations

that have been put forward include a possible role of peri-domestic

birds, such as pigeons, or the use of untreated bird faeces as

fertilizer. At present, H5N1 avian influenza remains largely a disease

of birds. The species barrier is significant: the virus does not easily

cross from birds to infect humans. Despite the infection of tens of

millions of poultry over large geographical areas since mid-2003, fewer

than 200 human cases have been laboratory confirmed. For unknown

reasons, most cases have occurred in rural and periurban households

where small flocks of poultry are kept. Again for unknown reasons, very

few cases have been detected in presumed high-risk groups, such as

commercial poultry workers, workers at live poultry markets, cullers,

veterinarians, and health staff caring for patients without adequate

protective equipment. Also lacking is an explanation for the puzzling

concentration of cases in previously healthy children and young adults.

Research is urgently needed to better define the exposure

circumstances, behaviours, and possible genetic or immunological

factors that might enhance the likelihood of human infection.

Assessment of possible cases.

Investigations of all the most recently confirmed human cases, in

China, Indonesia, and Turkey, have identified direct contact with

infected birds as the most likely source of exposure. When assessing

possible cases, the level of clinical suspicion should be heightened

for persons showing influenza-like illness, especially with fever and

symptoms in the lower respiratory tract, who have a history of close

contact with birds in an area where confirmed outbreaks of highly

pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza are occurring. Exposure to an

environment that may have been contaminated by faeces from infected

birds is a second, though less common, source of human infection. To

date, not all human cases have arisen from exposure to dead or visibly

ill domestic birds. Research published in 2005 has shown that domestic

ducks can excrete large quantities of highly pathogenic virus without

showing signs of illness. A history of poultry consumption in an

affected country is not a risk factor, provided the food was thoroughly

cooked and the person was not involved in food preparation. As no

efficient human-to-human transmission of the virus is known to be

occurring anywhere, simply travelling to a country with ongoing

outbreaks in poultry or sporadic human cases does not place a traveller

at enhanced risk of infection, provided the person did not visit live

or “wet” poultry markets, farms, or other environments where exposure

to diseased birds may have occurred.

The level of surveillence in place is the highest and best it has ever been. This disease is being taken extremely seriously.

[Dick Smith]

Viva - I think it may be an issue if you are in contact with droppings or dust from them, or handle live, feathered birds. Otherwise, we are being told it is safe. Certainly cooked chicken is safe as the virus is relatively fragile and is killed at quite low temperatures - below those which would cook the meat.