More than a dozen cats have died after drinking raw milk from cows infected with avian influenza at a Texas dairy farm, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday.
The CDC and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have confirmed that traces of avian influenza have been detected in commercially available milk, but maintain that it is safe for human consumption.
the hill In mid-March, scientists reported that a Texas farm was feeding raw milk to about 24 cats before the cows were found to be sick. The day after the cows showed visible signs of illness, the cats also became ill, and within a day or two more than half of the cats became ill and died. ”
“In early March 2024, similar clinical cases were reported in dairy cattle in southwestern Kansas and northeastern New Mexico. Deaths of wild birds and domestic cats also occurred in affected areas of the Texas Panhandle. „observed,“ the CDC writes in a new document. report.
“At one or more dairy farms in Texas, domestic cats died after being fed raw colostrum and milk from sick cows in hospital parlors. Prenatal clinical signs of affected cats were as follows: Neurological examination of affected cats showed decreased mental status, rigidity of body movements, ataxia, blindness, turning, and copious oculo-nasal discharge, with absence of threat reflex and pupillary light response, and blinking. It became clear that the response was weak.
„This series of cases differs from most previous reports of IAV infection in bovids, which showed that cattle were subclinically infected or resistant to infection,“ the scientists wrote. There is.
„We describe an H5N1 strain of IAV in dairy cows that caused apparent systemic disease, reduced milk production, and massive viral shedding in milk. This is further emphasized by the high mortality rate (approximately 50%) of cats fed raw colostrum and milk from infected cows.
The FDA has issued a warning against human consumption of raw milk.
“The FDA has long advised consumers not to consume raw milk (milk that has not been pasteurized). FDA continues to advise industry not to manufacture or sell raw milk products, including raw milk or raw milk cheese, made from milk from cows that are showing symptoms of illness, including those infected with the avian influenza virus. This includes people who have been exposed to humans or people infected with the avian influenza virus.”
Dairy cows in Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and South Dakota have tested positive for the H5N1 virus.