Post Reply - pets & pandemics

Nonetheless, a recent case of H5N1 influenza in another cat in Oregon highlights something important, because it’s different from previous cases. 

Most reported cases of H5N1 flu in cats to date have been of severe disease, usually with neurological signs, but it’s been unclear whether this is because infected cats typically get severe neurological disease or whether we’ve only been testing the cats with severe disease. 

It remains unknown how often infected cats get milder disease, and that’s a really important testing consideration, for both clinical patients and surveillance testing.

Respiratory disease in very common in cats, especially outdoor cats. Knowing whether flu should be a consideration in your average cat with an upper respiratory tract infection is important for determining how they are managed in a clinic (to avoid transmission to staff and other patients) and how they should be managed at home (to avoid transmission to family members and other animals in ad around the home). 

In contrast to previously described severe cases in cats, the recent case of H5N1 in a cat from Oregon was described as having a much more typical respiratory tract infection. “A veterinarian examined the cat after it exhibited symptoms including a fever, runny nose and eyes, lethargy, difficulty breathing and loss of appetite.” 

Although difficulty breathing isn’t typical for a run-of-the-mill upper respiratory tract infection in a cat, it is consistent with pneumonia, which can occur secondary to any viral infection. 

The news report is light on clinical details, but if this case was actually was more akin to a typical pneumonia that we might see in cat secondary to other more common bugs, it (long with a few other milder cases where cats have recovered) suggests that we need to vastly expand the cats we should consider potential H5N1 flu suspects. 

It means we need to focus on more than just the severely ill cats with respiratory and neurological disease. 

At the same time, it’s tough to say how wide a net we should cast, given the commonness of mild upper respiratory tract disease in cats.