Could house cats be the agents that accelerate spread bird flu to humans?

 

Screengrab:  New York Post

Headline:  California Institute, 2/10/2025

Sarah Boden writes:

“Companion animals, and especially cats, are 100% a public health risk in terms of the risk of zoonotic transmission to people,” said virologist Angela Rasmussen, who studies disease progression in emerging viruses at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization. 

This is because we snuggle with and sleep in bed with our cats. When we’re not looking, cats drink from our water glasses and walk on kitchen counters. So, cat owners should be aware of the ongoing spread of bird flu. “By reducing the risk to your cats, you reduce the risk to yourself,”  [emphasis added]

Rasmussen said. Rasmussen doesn’t think pet owners should be afraid their cats will give them bird flu but said taking precautions is good for pets, and for public health.

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First Felon Donald Trump plans to fiddle while bird flu rampages across the United States.  (2/7)

First Felon Donald Trump welcomes B3.13 to the Bird Flu stage.  (2/6)

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First Felon Donald Trump fiddles while bird flu runs rampant and CDC is handcuffed.  (2/4)

Another case of bird flu hits O'Brien County Iowa; 240,000 layer hens affected.  (2/3)

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"Unprecedented" outbreak of bird flu in Massachusetts.  (2/2)

First Felon Donald Trump puts us all in danger by handcuffing the CDC.  (2/1)

While First Felon Donald Trump puts US government on pause with chaos and confusion, bird flu rampages worldwide.  (2/1)

January 2025

First Felon Donald Trump flying blind when it comes to tackling bird flu.  (1/31)

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Bird flu wipes out chickens at 2nd biggest egg producer in United States.  (1/30)

Please welcome H5N9 to the Bird Flu stage.  (1/29/2025)

Please welcome Connecticut and Rhode Island to the Bird Flu stage.  (1/28)

Please welcome Pennsylvania to the Bird Flu stage.  (1/28)

Trump response to bird flu:  Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride.  (1/27)

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That's assuming pet food companies have safety plans in the first place.  (1/27)

Snow geese are dying in Delaware .  (1/26)

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Please welcome Georgia to the bird flu stage!  (1/21)

Please welcome Maryland to the bird flu stage!  (1/20)

Food fads for pets put them at risk of bird flu.  (1/18)

7 things you can do to prevent getting bird flu.  (1/17)

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It's 2025 and bird flu is not going away.  (1/15)

Taxpayers on the hook for dead chickens.  (1/14)

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Bird flu infects barnyard flock in metro Detroit.  (1/12)

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Scientists keep tabs on bird flu's silent mutations.  (1/10)

First fatal human H5N1 infection occurs in Louisiana.  (1/7)

Mr. Ed is bummed about this latest H5N1 bird flu news.  (1/6)

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New England Journal of Medicine warns of emerging threat of H5N1 to humans.  (1/1)

December 2024

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Bird flu and normalcy bias.  (12/30)

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Iowa records first human case of bird flu.  (12/28)

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Lax response by US government allows bird flu to spread nationwide.  (12/22)

Bird flu in humans; it's here in the USA.  (12/20)

Bird flu emergency in California:  300 herds test positive in last 30 days.  (12/19)

Bird flu in chickens:  IT'S EVERYWHERE IT'S EVERYWHERE!!  (12/18)

Simply deadly:  Raw milk in an era of widespread bird flu.  (12/17)

Coming soon to your cat:  Bird flu.  (12/16)

Bird flu has now reach 49 states and 560 counties.  (12/15)

Bird flu slaughters northern gannets in eastern Canada.  (12/15)

Bird flu comes to British Columbia. (12/14)

What worries pandemic experts most about bird flu.  (12/13)

Will Trump administration health policies spark another pandemic?  (12/12)

Let's do the math about those 6,000,000 Iowa laying hens "affected" by bird flu.  (12/10)

Top 5 states with confirmed cases of bird flu in cattle herds.  (12/10)