According to state officials on Tuesday, three cats from a single Clackamas County home tested positive for bird flu this week, making them the most recent cases in Oregon in the previous two months.
Since December, seven cats in the Portland area—two in Washington County and two in Multnomah County—have been infected with avian influenza. The Oregon Department of Agriculture said that at least four of those cats were put down after exhibiting serious symptoms.
Ryan Scholz, the state veterinarian at the state agency, said that the majority of the afflicted cats got avian flu from eating raw pet food. Although chickens are more likely to contract the disease, other animals can contract it by eating contaminated raw meat or milk or by coming into close contact with diseased birds.
Whether the three cats from Clackamas County had eaten raw pet food before getting infected was not confirmed by a state agency official.
Serious and perhaps lethal symptoms can result from bird flu. Fever, breathing difficulties, appetite loss, and drainage from the eyes or nose are typical symptoms of avian flu. Although they are less vulnerable, dogs can also get the sickness, the state government said.
Two cats examined by Portland’s DoveLewis Veterinary Hospital tested positive for avian flu on Tuesday. According to a press release from the hospital, one had to be put down while the other recovered. Whether these cats are part of the state’s confirmed cases is unclear.
Scholz stated that he anticipates that the number of infections in cats will keep increasing. To find out more about how the disease affects certain animals, the state agency has increased its testing efforts, according to Scholz.
“A lot of animals are being tested,” Scholz stated. Although there haven’t been any occurrences in dogs, it’s definitely plausible, therefore at the moment, we’re attempting to cast a fairly wide net.
The state government advises against giving raw milk or meat to pets. Additionally, it suggests washing hands after handling raw meat, dealing with poultry, or handling deceased animals, and avoiding dogs around wild birds or poultry.
A public health alert has been released by the Washington State Department of Agriculture to warn of the dangers associated with products made by Wild Coast Raw, a firm situated in Olympia, Washington. According to officials, this product was linked to at least two of the avian flu cases in Oregon.
There had only been two documented cases of avian flu infecting cats in Oregon before the recent outbreak of infections. Agency spokesperson Andrea Cantu-Schomus said both occurrences happened in Linn County in 2022.
Rarely, avian flu can also infect people. But according to the EPA, no human infections have been documented in Oregon as a result of coming into touch with an infected cat.
State politics and government are covered by Carlos Fuentes. You may contact him at [email protected] or 503-221-5386.
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