In light of the unprecedented bird flu outbreak, European health chiefs are advising pet owners to take precautions to protect their animals. Cats should be kept indoors, and dogs should be kept on a leash while walking. The global bird flu outbreak has had a devastating impact on both domestic and wild bird populations, resulting in millions of deaths across 67 countries, including the UK. Scientists have also expressed concern about the spread of bird flu to wild mammals, such as foxes, which can become infected by hunting sick birds or scavenging dead ones. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has highlighted the risk to pets and advised owners to keep their cats indoors and dogs on a leash to minimize exposure. This warning comes after a group of cats in Poland tested positive for bird flu, with nine of them succumbing to the disease. It was noted that many of the cats had been fed raw poultry, potentially infecting them with the virus. While there have been no confirmed cases of cat-to-cat or cat-to-human transmission, a study conducted on an infected farm in Italy found that five dogs and a cat had antibodies for bird flu. EFSA advises avoiding exposure of domestic pets, particularly carnivores, to dead or diseased animals and refraining from feeding them offal or raw meat from wild or captive birds. In areas with confirmed cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in wild birds, it is recommended to keep dogs on a leash and confine cats indoors. Genetic analysis of the Polish and Italian outbreaks revealed that the highly infectious bird flu strain responsible for spreading globally, HPAI A(H5N1), was the cause. This raises concerns about the virus’s ability to adapt and infect mammals, posing a risk to both wildlife and domestic animals, including pets. EFSA also recommends increased health monitoring of domestic pets in areas with a high number of bird flu cases and testing of pet owners exposed to infected cats and dogs. In the UK, no official guidance has been issued regarding cat or dog interactions with wild birds, but health authorities maintain that the overall risk to humans from avian influenza is low. However, experts warn that if bird flu were to cross over to humans, it could result in a high fatality rate. Bird flu, also known as avian flu, is an infectious type of influenza that primarily affects birds but can be transmitted to humans through close contact with infected birds. It is crucial to avoid handling sick or dead birds and to practice thorough hand hygiene to reduce the risk of infection.
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