In a world filled with scary news headlines, it may be difficult to know what kind of attention you need to pay attention to. Does Dingo eat my baby? When I changed the bay name, was the snowstorm really the cause? Is my dog going to get bird flu from their food?
I don’t intend to comment on the first two, but I can explain in detail the occurrence of bird flu, how it affects pets, and why some raw pet foods were recalled. 。
Fact about bird flu
More commonly called “bird flu” or H5N1 is a very pathogenic stock of influenza virus that is fatal and devastating in the poultry industry for birds.1 Historically, we have seen illnesses from birds to birds, and sometimes from birds to mammals, especially cattle, but during the recent occurrence, infectious diseases spread from mammals to mammals. It suggests that this virus is continuing to adapt, and it will have potentially catastrophic consequences and evolve.2
The birds infected with H5n1 rarely recovered, and gained great results to the number of birds and the forced CULL on the poultry farms in an attempt to contain the diffusion of the virus. In cows, infectious diseases usually show relatively mild signs, such as fever, hasty, unfamiliar, and decrease in milk production. Humans who can get a bird flu by directly contact with infected birds and mammals tend to suffer from fever, headache, and cough flu, and occasionally vomit and diarrhea. Since the start of 2024, there have been cases of less than 70 people in the United States, one reported from H5N1, and is reported to be very low in lives in life -threatening diseases.
The worrisome pet owner is a recent spontaneous recall from several pet food companies after at least one cat died after eating raw frozen cat food contaminated with the H5N1 virus.
Cats, dogs, bird flu
It has been established earlier that cats are infected with bird flu. Most cases It is found on a farm cat or a farm that is caught and eaten or consumed. Unfortunately, bird flu is often fatal in cats, and nerve signs such as fever, absorption, red inflammation or inflammation, emissions from eyes and nose, dyspnea, tremor, seizures, and blindness. There is a clinical sign that includes.
Strictly in Washington County, the recent death of an indoor cat has performed a wide range of tests by pet food producers, causing some recalls of specific poultry -based products. Raw pet food supporters argue that there is almost no concern, but this case sheds the risk of pathogens, one of the most obvious problems in menstruation.
Raw meals have been shown to provide pets a lot of health benefits, but the risk of bacteria and the risk of viruses are now unmatched by calm cooking. Most other commercially available pet foods are super -firm and more secure alternative.
To date, there have been no cases of dog symptoms, but asymptomatic cases have been confirmed. A dog test exposed to H5n1 in Thailand shows a positive antibody, and it has been found that dogs exposed to viruses shrink into viruses and drop off, but in both scenarios, dogs are infected. He did not show a clinical sign.
It is good news for dogs, but not so good for virus spread.
How do I protect my dog from bird flu?
The first thing you need to know is that there is almost no reason to panic, but it does not mean you should not keep alert. It is very unlikely that your dog will be infected with a bird flu from another animal, but if your dog is given raw diet, you may want to reconsider the choice of food, especially if you contain chicken. Maybe.
In light of these recent developments FDA has issued the following advice: To the pet owner:
“H5n1 can be fatal not only for cats but also for cats, so the risk of this pathogen that appears to consumers before feeding meat that has not been cooked or un cooked. We encourage you to be carefully considered, so you may want to be supplied to the Companion Animal. Consumers are recommended for consumers to inactivate themselves for milk and egg products for the handling of raw meat and thoroughly cooking. Animals also need to hunt and consume.
Take home message
The risk of bird flu to your dog remains very low, but there are some very simple ways to keep the risk even lower. One of them is to guarantee that only foods that have received some form of thermal treatment are feeding. If you are a fan to provide a low -food diet, contact the supplier, investigate what tests you are doing, and consider cooking meat products before feeding your pet. I recommend that. chicken!
If your pet is infected or you are suspected of being exposed to bird flu, contact your veterinarian to ask for advice. CDC。
