Northwest Naturals issued a voluntary recall for a batch of pet meals after a cat died of chicken flu in Oregon, officers mentioned.
Testing accomplished by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories and the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed an indoor cat in Oregon’s Washington County contracted chicken flu and died after consuming the pet meals.
“We are assured that this cat contracted H5N1 by consuming the Northwest Naturals uncooked and frozen pet meals,” Oregon Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz mentioned in a Tuesday launch. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not uncovered to the virus in its setting, and outcomes from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the uncooked pet meals and contaminated cat have been actual matches to one another.”
Can pets transmit chicken flu to house owners?
Oregon officers are monitoring family members who had contact with the cat to see in the event that they develop any flu signs, however no human instances of chicken flu have been recognized as of Tuesday and the danger of transmission to people stays low within the state.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentioned that it is unlikely for a pet owner to get sick with bird flu by direct contact with an contaminated pet, however it’s attainable. The well being company famous that in 2016, the unfold of bird flu from a cat to a person was reported in New York City. The contaminated particular person, a veterinarian, had delicate flu signs after extended publicity to sick cats with out utilizing private protecting tools.
Oregon’s Department of Agriculture mentioned the cat loss of life is a reminder that giving uncooked meat merchandise to pets can result in sickness.
What to do if you happen to purchased the pet meals
Northwest Naturals on Tuesday suggested pet house owners to ditch 2-pound baggage of Feline Turkey Recipe uncooked frozen pet meals, marked with finest if utilized by dates of 05/21/26 B10 and 06/23/2026 B1. The product was bought in a dozen states and Canada.
The pet meals was bought by distributors in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington. The meals was additionally bought in British Columbia in Canada.
Customers can contact the place of buy for a full refund.
Cats weak to chicken flu
Cats are particularly vulnerable to chicken flu, in accordance with the Food and Drug Administration.
“Cats are notably weak to this virus, which may trigger delicate preliminary signs however progress quickly, usually leading to loss of life inside 24 hours attributable to pneumonia-like circumstances,” the assertion mentioned, including the middle was underneath quarantine and can stay closed to the general public till additional discover.
Health officers in California this 12 months launched an investigation after two cats died from suspected bird flu after being given uncooked milk. And in Texas, cats at a farm died after consuming uncooked milk from chicken flu-infected cows.
