A new study published last week in the academic journal Emerging Microbes & Infections, suggests that pet cats could be just as dangerous as pigs were at the beginning of the bird flu outbreak. Domestic cats could provide the bridge that allows H5N1 bird flu to mutate and jump to humans.
Experts have long claimed that pigs were the greatest zoonotic threat to humanity, especially with regard to avian influenza. This is how the 2008/09 H1N1 swine flu pandemic started and it is suspected that pigs in Haskell country, Kansas may have triggered the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic which is estimated to have killed between 50 and 100 million people, according to a report by The Telegraph UK.
The new study found that cats, like pigs, had cellular receptors that allow them to act as “mixing vessels for reassortment of avian and mammalian influenza viruses.” Further, cats that had recently died of H5N1 bird flu were found to have “unique mutations” suggestive of “potential virus adaptation”.
Bird Flu May Be Spreading From Humans To Domestic Cats
“The continued exposure, viral circulation, and adaptation of the H5N1 virus in cats raise significant concerns for transmission and public health,” concluded the study’s authors from the University of Pittsburgh. Cats, they added, frequently interact with humans and other species and could therefore “serve as a bridge for cross-species transmission of H5N1 viruses”.
“Indoor Only” Cats Test Positive For Bird Flu
A total of 53 cats are known to have been infected as the virus has swept through United States farms.
The study conducted postmortem on cats to attempt to determine if humans could become infected by interacting with domestic pet cats. “Infected cats develop systemic infections and shed the virus through both respiratory and digestive tracts, potentially creating multiple routes of exposure to humans”, says the study. “Furthermore, the ability of the virus to persist and adapt in mammalian hosts heightens the risk of evolving into strains with increased transmissibility, posing an emerging zoonotic threat with profound public health implications”.
Bird Flu Mutation Raises Pandemic Red Flags
The mainstream media has been warning of cats’ role in the avian influenza outbreak for several months now. This study simply aligns with the media’s already crafted narrative.
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