LA officers advise towards uncooked pet meals after chicken flu outbreak in cats

The next are excerpts from a message to veterinarians concerning the outbreak of extremely pathogenic avian influenza amongst pet cats from the Veterinary Public Well being division of the Los Angeles County Division of Public Well being.

With scientific proof of the linkage between contaminated uncooked merchandise and cats growing extreme or deadly H5 chicken flu an infection, Los Angeles County Division of Public Well being (LAC DPH) recommends veterinarians strongly advise pet house owners to not feed pets uncooked pet meals diets, uncooked meat, uncooked poultry, and uncooked milk as a result of dangers related to H5 chicken flu.

Fowl flu in cats that consumed uncooked pet meals

Roughly 1-2 weeks after starting to eat two commercially obtainable uncooked meals pet diets, all cats in a family of 5 strictly indoor-only cats turned in poor health. Two of the 5 cats skilled acute respiratory misery and had been humanely euthanized. Medical indicators within the cats included: higher respiratory signs, lethargy, diminished urge for food, pollakiuria, ataxia, corneal edema, uveitis, and retinal detachment resulting in everlasting imaginative and prescient loss. As a part of preliminary diagnostics, one severely in poor health cat had a respiratory PCR panel carried out by a business veterinary laboratory, which got here again optimistic for influenza A.

The cat’s pattern was retested and influenza A optimistic at the California Animal Well being and Meals Security Laboratory (CAHFS). The pattern was then despatched to the USDA’s Nationwide Veterinary Companies Laboratory (NVSL) the place entire genome sequencing (WGS) was carried out and was confirmed to be optimistic for H5 chicken flu (H5N1). The proprietor had unopened and opened packages of each commercially obtainable uncooked pet meals that had been fed to the cats. These samples had been supplied to the Animal Diagnostic Middle laboratory of Cornell College the place testing was carried out in partnership with the FDA. Testing confirmed that product samples of each the opened and unopened Monarch Uncooked Pet meals had been contaminated with reside and infective influenza A H5N1 virus.

In a separate single-cat family, a strictly indoor-only home cat was confirmed optimistic for H5 chicken flu on December 31, 2024. The cat was fed three completely different manufacturers of commercially obtainable poultry-based uncooked pet meals. No pre-existing sickness was recognized previous to the cat changing into sick. Signs on this cat included fever, lethargy, anorexia, and acute wheezing. The cat remained hospitalized on oxygen for a number of days, was launched and is recovering from sickness. A respiratory PCR panel resulted optimistic for influenza A at a business laboratory, and each oropharyngeal and rectal swabs examined by Los Angeles County DPH had been confirmed by NVSL as optimistic for H5 chicken flu. The investigation is ongoing and testing of the uncooked pet meals diets is at present underway by the FDA. Family members and veterinary clinic workers who had contact with the cat are additionally being monitored for signs of flu.

Fowl flu in cats that consumed uncooked milk merchandise

To this point, in LA County, there have been two separate households with confirmed optimistic H5 chicken flu in cats following the consumption of recalled uncooked milk merchandise. In early December 2024, seven cats from one family turned in poor health and 5 died in LA County after consuming the recalled uncooked milk bought for human consumption. On December 22, 2024, a cat from a unique family was submitted for rabies testing after it died following the acute onset of extreme neurologic indicators (anorexia, disorientation, ataxia, confusion, circling, and seizures). Following a damaging rabies take a look at, a mind swab was collected and confirmed by NVSL to be optimistic for H5N1. Additional investigation revealed that this cat lived in a family of eight indoor/out of doors cats that additionally had been provided milk from Uncooked Farm LLC in late November 2024; nonetheless, it was unclear what number of cats had consumed the uncooked milk on this family. Over a interval of three days, three of the eight cats on this family had change into acutely in poor health and died, and solely the one cat referenced above was examined for influenza.