Posted on 03/06/2006 1:13:31 PM PST by Kjobs
VIENNA, Austria - Three cats have tested positive for the deadly strain of bird flu in Austria's first reported case of the disease spreading to an animal other than a bird, state authorities said Monday.
The sick cats were among 170 living at an animal shelter where the disease was detected in chickens last month, authorities said.
The World Health Organization called bird flu a greater global challenge than any previous infectious disease, costing global agriculture more than $10 billion and affecting the livelihoods of 300 million farmers.
[snip]
Dr. Margaret Chan, who is spearheading WHO's efforts against bird flu, told disease experts meeting in Geneva to discuss bird flu preparations that the organization's top priority was to keep the deadly strain from mutating into a form easily passed between humans. That could trigger a global pandemic.
Since February, the virus has spread to birds in 17 new countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, she said.
"We truly feel that this present threat and any other threat like it is likely to stretch our global systems to the point of collapse," said Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO's director of epidemic and pandemic alert and response.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
what a pity for you... you'll never be able to order chinese take out again.
Right. Germany and Austria are two separate countries.
Are we looking at Bird Flu hitting our shores in July or August of this year, or is it a multi-year issue? As in Bird-Flu hitting us in 07 or 08.
I'm guessing SARS will probably hit us first.
Odds are bird flu will hit the US this year, resulting in poultry kills and people running away from eating chicken. It would probably be a multiyear issue.
As for when and where the it will develop easy transmissibility between people is anyone's guess and of course it may never accomplish that.
Teach them to feed on mice instead.
The question is did it spread from cat to cat or did they catch it from birds?
How do you know mice don't catch it from birds?
Mice don't eat birds so it will be a bit harder unless the mice are lapping up bird poop.
Pretty cruddy news write-up. She makes it sound like cat-to-cat transmission has occured. But she fails to directly state that. Sheesh.
I'm hoping to die laughing.
That's basically a given.
It's how soon and how badly that worries me.
We're not sure how they got infected yet, but it's not just chicken consumers that have gotten this. Contact with feces, very close contact with infected birds (without eating them, I mean), contact with an object that touched an infected bird, and rare cases of human-to-human (and cat-to-cat) transmission have taken place.
Think of it-- a world overrun with rats!!!
"It is better and safer for the cat and would stop the spread of this disease as well as others plus you don't have to worry about other problems like cars as well as cats attacking birds."
Let's not forget that keeping Kitty indoors also avoids waffle-kitty syndrome, if Kitty should wander onto a road.
Waffle-Kitty Syndrome sounds like a hugh and series threat to outdoor kitties everywhere.
Cats getting the Avian Influenza? Sounds like opportunity to me. I guess every cloud has a silver lining somewhere.
Now, I don't know much about animal shelters, but from what I know, cats and other small pet-type animals are usually kept in cages or kennels. There isn't much reason to automatically suspect that the cats were kept close to the avian section of the shelter.
Not trying to rag on anyone, just pointing this out.
~Moshi-chan
My cats laugh at bird flu.
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