Cats infected with bird flu could have spread the virus to humans in the same household and vice versa, according to data that briefly appeared in an exhibition from the Disease Control and Prevention Centers, but then disappeared abruptly. The data seems to have been registered incorrectly, but they include critical information on the dangers of bird flu in humans and pets.
In a household, an infected cat may have spread the virus to another cat and in one human being, according to a copy of the data table received by the New York Times. The cat died four days after the onset of symptoms. In a second household, an infected dairy worker seems to have been the first to show symptoms and a cat then sick two days later and died on the third day.
The painting was the only reference to bird flu in a scientific exhibition published on Wednesday, which was otherwise dedicated to the quality of the air and the fires of Los Angeles. The table did not exist in a copy of the document shared with the media on Tuesday and is not included in the versions available online today. The table appeared shortly at about 1 pm, when the paper was first published, but it is not clear how or why the error could have happened.
The virus, called H5N1, adapts mainly to birds, but has been circulated in dairy cattle since last year. H5N1 has also contaminated at least 67 Americans, but it is not yet possible to spread it easily among people. Only one American, in Louisiana, died so far of H5N1 infection.
The exhibition was part of the weekly CDC morbidity and mortality report, which, two weeks ago, had regularly published each week from the first dose decades ago. However, the ban on communications for the organization had held the reports until the Wildfire report was published on Wednesday.
Experts said the finding that cats could have passed the virus to humans was not completely unexpected. But they were worried that the finding had not yet been released to the public.
“If there is new data on H5N1 held for political purposes, this is completely opposed to the responsibility of the government, which is to protect the American people,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the pandemic center at The Brown University School of Public Health .
It was important for the CDC to immediately publish the full data and the framework in which other scientists were collected, he said.
Scientists have long known that cats are particularly sensitive to virus. At least 85 domestic cats have been infected by the end of 2022, according to the US Department of Agriculture. But there were no previously documented cases of cat that passed the virus to humans.
“Taking into account the number of cats in the US and close contact with people, there is certainly a need to understand the potential danger,” said Dr. Diego Diel, a veterinarian and Iologist at Cornell University.
Although cats can be infected when victims of infected wild birds, cases between domestic cats in the United States began to grow last year as the virus spread through dairy farms. In many farms, dead cats were the first cows infected. Several recent cases in pet cats have also been linked to infected raw pet food or raw milk.
H5N1 is often fatal in cats, which can develop severe neurological symptoms.
Historically, H5N1 has mainly affected birds. But in recent years, new versions of the virus have proven to be capable of infecting a wide range of mammals, including wild and domestic cats, seals and dairy cows. Mammal infections give the virus more opportunities to evolve in ways that could allow people to infect more easily.
