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Cat-to-human H5N1 transmission risk

This is a U.S. news story, published by KFF Health News.

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bird flu infections

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Entertainment

House Cats With Bird Flu Could Pose a Risk to Public Health - KFF Health News

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83% Informative

A small but growing number of house cats have gotten sick from H5N1, the bird flu strain driving the current U.S. outbreak.

The strain of bird flu currently circulating has not adapted to efficiently spread among people.

There have been no known cases of cat-to-human transmission during the current outbreak.

There isn’t a lot of research on transmission of bird flu from companion animals like cats or dogs to humans.

The more infections you have in animals, “the more your luck is potentially going to run out” Most people who have caught H5N1 are agricultural workers who had direct contact with infected poultry or cattle.

There's very little people can do about the H5N1 circulating in wild birds.

But there's a lot to do to keep the virus out of their homes.

Don't feed your pet raw food or unpasteurized milk or contact wild birds that could be infected.

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Informative language

Neutral language

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semi-formal

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English

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not offensive

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not hateful

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not detected

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not detected

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short-lived

External references

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/bird-flu-is-raising-red-flags-among-health-officials https://www.vet.cornell.edu/research/faculty/bruce-kornreich-dvm-phd https://apps.oregon.gov/oregon-newsroom/OR/ODA/Posts/Post/morasch-meats-voluntary-recall-feline-raw-pet-food-hpai#:~:text=The%20Oregon%20Department%20of%20Agriculture,Avian%20Influenza%20(HPAI)%20virus.https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.44.2400326 https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/illness-and-disease-z/avian-influenza https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9643929/#Sec8 http://npr.org/shots https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/avma-policies/raw-or-undercooked-animal-source-protein-cat-and-dog-diets https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/22221751.2024.2440498#d1e682 https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/single-mutation-h5n1-influenza-surface-protein-could-enable-easier-human-infection https://rawfarmusa.com/press-release https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/cvm-updates/cat-and-dog-food-manufacturers-required-consider-h5n1-food-safety-plans https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/animal-health/avian-influenza/avian-influenza-h5n1-cats https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/12/20/506285387/a-rare-bird-flu-infects-cats-in-new-york-city-shelter https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/7/24-0508_article https://www.avma.org/about/avma-board-of-directors/michael-q-bailey-dvm-dacvr https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR24-044.aspx https://iacuc.wsu.edu/zoonoses-associated-with-cats/https://www.npr.org/https://www.nw-naturals.net/12-24-24-voluntary-product-recall/https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/zoonotic-disease-what-can-i-catch-my-cat https://sph.umd.edu/news/researcher-warns-pet-cats-risk-getting-bird-flu-and-possibly-infecting-people https://www.vido.org/https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/jane-sykes https://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/directory/suresh-kuchipudi https://www.amsa.org/response-to-us-withdrawal-from-who/https://angelarasmussen.org/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ask-smithsonian-are-cats-domesticated-180955111/https://www.avma.org/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/mammals http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/vet/docs/AHAN/AHAN_H5BirdFluDomesticCats_ConfirmedInRawPetFood_RawMilk_01132025.pdf

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