Three cats from the same household in Clackamas County, Oregon, U.S., have tested positive for bird flu, adding to the latest infections in the state. One of the cats has been euthanized.
According to The Oregonian, seven cats in the Portland area have now contracted avian influenza since December, including two others in Washington County and two in Multnomah County. At least four of those cats have been euthanized after developing severe symptoms, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA).
Ryan Scholz, state veterinarian at ODA, told The Oregonian that most of the infected cats contracted bird flu from raw pet food. A spokesperson for the state agency did not confirm whether the three Clackamas County cats had consumed raw pet food prior to their infections.
Scholz said he expects the number of infections in cats to continue rising, adding the state agency has ramped up its testing efforts to learn more about the disease’s effects on different animals.
U.S. shifts avian influenza outbreak response
The AP is reporting that the Trump administration is planning a new strategy for fighting bird flu that stresses vaccinations and tighter biosecurity instead of killing off millions of chickens when the disease strikes a flock.
The federal government will seek “better ways, with biosecurity and medication and so on” rather than the current standard practice of destroying all the birds on a farm when an infection is detected, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said Sunday on the CBS program “Face the Nation.” Hassett didn’t provide details of how the Trump administration’s new approach would work.
According to a report at WATT Poultry, in the past, controlling HPAI has relied primarily on the depopulation of affected flocks and enhanced biosecurity measures, however there as been growing support toward vaccination as the outbreak continues. On February 14, an avian influenza killed vaccine for chickens manufactured by Zoetis received conditional approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB).
Amidst growing support to implement a vaccination program against HPAI in commercial poultry in the U.S., there are others voicing concerns about how it could negatively impact trade. In a February 13 letter to the USDA, the co-chairs of the Congressional and Senate Chicken Caucuses wrote that “vaccination in any poultry sector – egg layers, turkeys, broilers, or ducks – will jeopardize the entire export market for all U.S. poultry products.”
