A pet cat in Oregon has died from fowl flu after consuming uncooked cat meals that examined constructive for H5N1. It’s the most recent worrying improvement within the ongoing unfold of fowl flu amongst animals and people this 12 months.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) announced the cat’s demise Thursday. The demise comes after a bird flu outbreak at Washington’s Wild Felid Advocacy Center this month. The outbreak killed 20 large cats, together with African servals, bobcats, and cougars.
According to ODA officers, the home cat examined constructive for a H5N1 pressure of extremely pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, that was genetically similar to viruses present in samples of uncooked and frozen pet meals offered by the corporate Northwest Naturals. While no human circumstances tied to the pet meals have emerged as of but, the corporate has issued a voluntary recall of its affected merchandise.
“We are assured that this cat contracted H5N1 by consuming the Northwest Naturals uncooked and frozen pet meals,” stated ODA State Veterinarian Ryan Scholz in a division statement. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not uncovered to the virus in its atmosphere, 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.”
Northwest Naturals has issued a voluntary recall of its Northwest Naturals model 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe uncooked & frozen pet meals. The firm is particularly recalling its 2-pound plastic baggage with “Best if utilized by” dates of 05/21/26 B10 and 06/23/2026 B1. The merchandise have been offered nationwide within the U.S.
H5N1 fowl flu has turn out to be a critical public well being concern recently, because of continued outbreaks in wild birds and poultry, in addition to the emergence of H5N1 and different avian influenza strains in dairy cows and different mammals this 12 months.
As of early December, outbreaks of H5N1 amongst dairy cows have occurred in 16 states this 12 months. More than 60 human circumstances of H5N1 within the U.S. have been documented in 2024, most linked to contact with contaminated cows or poultry. Cats, too, have been caught within the crossfire. There have been a number of outbreaks of fowl flu amongst each home cats and wild large cats at zoos and animal sanctuaries this 12 months, in the U.S. and elsewhere.
H5N1 circumstances in home cats have largely been traced again to cats consuming contaminated unpasteurized, or uncooked, milk, both whereas living on dairy farms or from consuming commercially sold products. Plenty of analysis has indicated that uncooked milk is usually a viable transmission route for spreading fowl flu to people as effectively. There have been other recent cases of H5N1 in cats traced again to improperly sterilized uncooked meals, although this seems to be the primary such case detected within the U.S.
The silver lining is that no different H5N1 circumstances have been tied again to the Oregon cat or to the pet meals (one human case of H5N1 was reported within the state this 12 months, although it wasn’t linked to dairy cows or milk). On December 11, Oregon’s Department of Agriculture introduced that it will check milk from each business dairy within the state as a precautionary measure in opposition to the unfold of fowl flu; that call got here on the heels of lots of of confirmed fowl flu circumstances throughout 16 states, together with from dairy cattle herds in Idaho, Nevada, and California.
While human circumstances of H5N1 this 12 months have largely been delicate up to now (although not all), some analysis has steered that H5N1 is very harmful to felines. And the longer these viruses are allowed to flow into between cows, cats, people, and different mammals, the larger the chance {that a} nightmare, pandemic-ready pressure will finally emerge—one that may unfold rapidly between people and trigger widespread illness and demise.
H5N1 isn’t the one potential hazard which may come from consuming uncooked pet meals, Oregon well being officers observe. These merchandise even have a better threat of containing different nasty germs equivalent to Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli micro organism.
