In two weeks have been registered a thirty cases genetically related to each other: the outbreak Of bird flu A/H5N1 spread in cats Poland has alerted theOms, who specified that it is the first “report of a number high of infected cats in a large geographical area within a Village“. On 27 June theWorld Health Organization received notification from Polish health authorities of “unusual deaths in cats across the Village. As of 11 July – informs the Geneva agency – 47 samples taken from 46 cats and a caracal in captivity were tested, of which 29 were found positive to the flu A/H5N1“. According to what was always reported by the Organization, “14 cats have been suppressed and 11 more died, with the last reported death on June 30.” The infection from A/H5N1 in felines it had already been reported previously, but “sporadic”, pointed out theOmstherefore without the characteristics of outbreak which it seems to have assumed now.
Genetic analysis confirmed that the virus strain that has infected animals is very similar to what it recently caused outbreaks in wild birds and in poultry farms in Poland. However, the source of the infection remains unknown, even if theOms at the moment he does not exclude any hypothesis: “The cats may have had direct or indirect contact with infected birds or with their environments, eaten infected birds or food contaminated by the virus”, explains the Organization. Authorities are investigating all potential sources of infection: the samples positive flu have been identified in 13 geographical areas of the Poland. Some cats have developed severe symptoms including respiratory difficulties, bloody diarrhea e neurological signswith rapid deterioration and death in some cases.
As for the risk of human infections following exposure to infected cats, theOms he specifies that at the national level “it is evaluated basso for the general population and from low to moderate for cat owners and those who are occupationally exposed to H5N1 infected cats (such as veterinarians) without the use of adequate protective equipment”. L’Oms keep monitoring the situation and to work in close collaboration with the animal health e publishregional agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (Woah) and other partner agencies in Poland.
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