Dozens of cats in Poland have been diagnosed with bird flu, as per the World Health Organization (WHO). However, the UN health agency reassured the public that the risk of transmission to humans remains low.
In an official statement released on July 17, WHO highlighted that this is the first time such a significant number of cats have been reported to have bird flu across multiple regions in a single country. This occurrence comes amid an unprecedented global outbreak of the latest variant of the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
Polish authorities alerted WHO officials about the unusual deaths of more than 45 cats in 13 geographical regions of the country last month. Subsequent testing confirmed that 29 of these cats were infected with the H5N1 virus.
The latest variant of H5N1 has been detected in birds and other animal species in various parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas since June. WHO reported that a dozen human cases have been documented since 2020.
Scientists are concerned that the increasing prevalence of H5N1, especially in animals that frequently interact with humans, could lead to the emergence of a mutated form of the virus that easily spreads among people, potentially triggering another pandemic.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, experts had speculated that H5N1 would be the likely cause of the next global outbreak. However, while bird flu has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of millions of birds worldwide, it has infected fewer than 900 people since 2003 and has not shown significant human-to-human transmission.
The source of the bird flu infection in domestic cats in Poland remains unclear, and officials are currently investigating potential sources of exposure. This includes examining the possibility of contact with wild birds known to carry H5N1. WHO affirmed that the risk of human infection with bird flu in Poland is considered low, and it is characterized as low to moderate for individuals exposed to infected cats, including cat owners and veterinarians.
Recently, WHO and its partners expressed concern over the increasing number of mammals infected with H5N1. Experts have previously cautioned that pigs, which can be susceptible to flu viruses from both humans and birds, might serve as a "mixing vessel" that facilitates the emergence of mutated viruses potentially dangerous to humans.
Over the past year, bird flu outbreaks in mammals have been reported in ten countries, involving farmed mink in Spain, seals in the United States, and sea lions in Peru and Chile.
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