Avian influenza in cats should be closely monitored, So far no sustained virus transmission in cats or from cats to humans

Rome, 8 February 2007 Food and Agriculture Organization- Cats canbecome infected with the highly lethal H5N1 avian influenza virus, butat present there is no scientific evidence to suggest that there hasbeen sustained transmission of the virus in cats or from cats tohumans, FAO said in a statement today.

As a precautionary measure, FAO recommended that in areas where theH5N1 virus has been found in poultry or wild birds, cats should beseparated from infected birds until the danger has passed. Oncommercial poultry premises cats should even be kept indoors.

The agency advised against killing cats as a virus control optionbecause there is nothing to suggest that cats are transmitting thevirus in a sustained way. Removing cats could lead to a surge inrodents such as rats, which are an agricultural pest and oftentransmit diseases to humans.

Unconfirmed reports that H5N1 infection has been detected in a highprevalence in cats in Indonesia has caused some alarm. The scavengingcats were sampled in the vicinity of poultry markets in Java andSumatra where outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza had recently occurred.

This is not the first time that cats have been infected as previousincidents in Thailand, Iraq, the Russian Federation, the EuropeanUnion and Turkey show. Cats can become infected by feeding on sickdomestic or wild birds; they can develop severe to fatal disease andexcrete the virus from the respiratory and digestive tracts.

"This raises some concern not only because cats could act asintermediary hosts in the spread of the H5N1 virus between species butalso because growth in cats might help the H5N1 virus to adapt into amore highly infectious strain that could spark an influenza pandemic,"said FAO Assistant Director-General Alexander Müller.

"Findings reported from Indonesia in January, however, suggest thataround 80 percent of cats in outbreak areas have not been infected.This is rather encouraging because it indicates that cats are unlikelyto constitute a reservoir of virus infection. Cats are more likely tobe a dead-end host for the H5N1 virus," said Peter Roeder, FAO AnimalHealth Officer.

FAO said that cats should be closely monitored for any H5N1 infection."Any unusual mortality in cats should spark a suspicion of H5N1.Infection in cats could be an early warning signal for the virus. Theobservation of cats should therefore become part of surveillancesystems in affected areas," Roeder said.

FAO will start field studies in areas in Java where the H5N1 virus isprevalent and where cats have died to investigate their role indisease transmission. This research will be extended to other parts ofIndonesia and elsewhere. "We also need experimental studies to betterunderstand the biology of H5N1 infection in cats, including mostimportantly the duration of virus shedding by infected animals,"Roeder said.

FAO will collaborate with scientific institutions in affectedcountries and international research centres.

Contact:
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For more information:
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000490/index.html