LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization stated greater than two dozen cats have been contaminated with hen flu throughout Poland, however no folks appeared to have been sickened.
In an announcement on Monday, the U.N. well being company stated it was the primary time so many cats had been reported to have hen flu over such a large geographical space in a single nation, amid an unprecedented world outbreak of the most recent model of the H5N1 model of the illness.
WHO stated that late final month, Polish authorities knowledgeable company officers of the bizarre deaths of greater than 45 cats in 13 geographical areas of the nation. Testing final week discovered that 29 had H5N1.
As of June, the latest variant of H5N1 has been reported in birds and different animal species in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Since 2020, WHO stated a dozen human circumstances have been reported.
Scientists fear that rising circumstances of H5N1, notably in animals which have frequent contact with people, may result in a mutated model of the illness that would unfold simply between folks, triggering one other pandemic.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many consultants had suspected that the subsequent world outbreak can be sparked by H5N1. But whereas hen flu has killed tons of of hundreds of thousands of birds globally, it has sickened fewer than 900 folks since 2003 and has not been capable of unfold simply amongst people.
WHO stated it was unclear how the home cats in Poland grew to become contaminated with hen flu and stated officers have been nonetheless investigating attainable sources of publicity, together with contact with wild birds which can be identified to hold H5N1. The company stated the chance of individuals in Poland being contaminated with hen flu was “low” and “low to moderate” for folks uncovered to cats, together with cat homeowners and veterinarians.
Last week, WHO and companions warned that the growing numbers of mammals contaminated with H5N1 have been uncommon. Experts have beforehand cautioned that pigs, that are prone to flu viruses from each people and birds, may act as a “mixing vessel,” resulting in the emergence of mutated viruses that could possibly be deadly to folks.
Since final 12 months, authorities in 10 nations have reported hen flu outbreaks in mammals, together with farmed mink in Spain, seals within the U.S., and sea lions in Peru and Chile.
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