First Detection of Cat to Human Bird Flu

In what may be the first known transmission of bird flu from cats to humans, a veterinarian in the US has been infected with a strain of avian flu that spread among more than 100 cats at animal shelters.

The infected veterinarian was involved in obtaining respiratory specimens from sick cats. The illness is said to have been resolved after early detection, indianexpress.com.

More than 160 employees and volunteers, including several people who had similar exposure to sick cats, were screened by the Health Department and not found to have infection.

The New York City Department of Health said that its ongoing investigation of the outbreak of H7N2, a strain of influenza virus, among cats housed at Animal Care Center shelters confirms that the risk to humans remains low. The Health Department also contacted more than 80% of the people who adopted cats from the shelter and none is suspected of having H7N2.

This is the first reported case due to exposure to an infected cat.