Cats could get a bird of raw food fluid. Here’s what to know.

Federal officials, who spent the last year, struggling with a wave of bird flu infection in cows and people, are now confronted with the number of novel cases in cats, some of which died after eating contaminated, undecided animal food.

From the beginning of December, Over two dozens of cases They were confirmed in national cats in the United States. Officials have associated some cases with raw milk, which is known to create a sedate risk for cats. But other cats got unwell after eating raw animal food available in trade – the first known cases in the country associated with pet food.

Cases have already prompted one animal food manufacturer until some of its products. Last week, federal officials announced novel rules for food safety for pets and efforts to supervise poultry.

Ptana flu “is a novel pollution of animal food,” said Dr. Steve Grub, medical director at the American Food and Drug Administration, at the briefing last week.

Despite this, experts and officials said that pets owners are not needed for panic. There is no evidence that infected cats gave people a virus, and cases were associated especially with unpasteurized milk and uncooked meat or poultry products.

Most commercial animal products are cooked or heat treatment. “The heat of processing should be enough to inactivate the virus,” said Phyllis Entis, a food safety microbiologist who worked at the Canadian Food Safety Agency.

But Cat cases emphasize the risk of raw food products and give birth to questions regarding vulnerabilities and supervision in part of the food supply chain.

“We really have no idea how widespread this virus is, and we’ve already seen several cases in which it escapes in the supply of animal food,” said Kristen Coleman, a researcher of infectious diseases at the University of Maryland, which is studying bird flu in cats. “It’s really great sensitivity.”

Although dogs seem to be less susceptible to a virus than cats and generally experience milder symptoms, contaminated food products are also a risk for dogs.

Here’s what to know.

How are cats infected?

Experts have long known that cats are susceptible to the virus, which is called H5N1 and is often fatal in cats. Cats there were sporadic deaths that prey on wild birds, and in cases of cats there was an boost in the number of birds after starting to circulate in a dairy farm about a year ago. Raw milk from infected cows often contains a very high level of the virus; Agricultural cats, which died after breaking raw milk, often served as an early sign of the explosion.

(Pasteurization, a process in which milk is quickly heated and then cooled, inactivates the virus and makes milk unthreatening to drink, According to FDA.)

Many last infections took place in internal cats, which did not have known contact with wild birds or dairy farms.

In December Announced officials from Oregon That the animal cat got infected with bird flu and died after eating raw, frozen animal food from Northwest Naturals. Food samples – a recipe for the company’s turkey cat – obtained a positive result in terms of H5N1, and the virus was a genetic match for the one that can be found in Cat, officials gave.

In the e-mail, Northwest Naturals said that the company “had a deep concern about the accuracy of testing an open pet food bag, which can contribute to cross pollution and the introduction of external pollutants that can lead to false positive or incorrect test results. “

Nevertheless, the company decided to spend Voluntary recall.

California also reported influenza bird infections in cats fed with raw milk or pet food. In one household in Los Angeles, Five cats got sick – And two died – after eating two types of raw pets. Officials said that the samples of one of the two brands, Monarch Raw Pet Food, tested a positive virus result.

“The monarch warns the range of local agencies; However, they do not ask for withdrawal and, if the best knowledge was not other cases that concern the monarch, “said Stephanie Greene, a spokeswoman for the company.

How does the virus enter animal food?

This is not completely clear and there may be different sources for different cases.

But we -Mail on Wednesday, a USDA spokesman said that some viral samples of infected cats were closely related, genetically with Turkey Farms samples in Minnesota.

When bird flu is detected in a bred turkey or chicken, federal recipes require killing all birds in this herd. These birds “are not allowed in any food at all,” said Dr. Eric Deeble, an official at the US Department of Agriculture last week.

Chickens and chickens usually become seriously ill and die shortly after their infection. But if the bird raised the virus just before the murdered or somehow had a very bland infection, maybe potentially slipping into the supply of foods undetected, the experts said.

The FDA, which regulates commercial food for pets, requires food producers to develop written safety plans, outline steps taken to ensure the safety of their products.

The agency “has zero tolerance to pathogens, such as Salmonella, Listeria or E. coli or any other potential pathogen in ready -to -eat pet food, and includes raw food for pets,” said Entis, who is the author of the book “Toxic: toxic: toxic: From the factory to Bowl Food Bowl, animal food is a risky business. “

(FDA does not have a formal definition of raw pets, but in general, products sold as “raw” have not been subjected to any heat treatment, such as cooking or pasteurization).

But in practice, Entis said, the agency does not have many resources for regulating and supervision of pet food. “So there are many that are not caught or are caught only when reports from diseases appear,” she said.

Northwest Naturals said that his animal food was processed in a facility that had a USDA inspector and produced food for human consumption. “We are fully sure of our tough quality control and its ability to ensure that our clients’ animals are served unthreatening and nutritious food,” said the company.

What do officials do with this?

Last Friday FDA announced Up-to-date rules that require from companies producing food for pets containing some unspoken or unpasteurized ingredients to update food safety plans to take into account the potential risks associated with bird flu.

Entis said if this would cause significant safety reforms. Some companies may decide to implement novel precautions, such as buying ingredients only from suppliers who regularly test their animals for the virus. But others could say that they reviewed existing security plans and determined that novel security was not necessary, said Entis.

Northwest Naturals said he was working on “reinforcement and strengthening our strict food safety plan.”

USDA Also announced Up-to-date guidelines for the supervision of bird influenza for enormous, commercial turkey farms in Minnesota and South Dakota. The guidelines that can be extended to other countries in the future require insulation, monitoring and testing of turkeys to the virus 72 hours before sending them to slaughter.

What can pets owners do?

The easiest way to protect pets is to avoid feeding raw milk, meat or poultry, and experts agreed. These products that may contain a range of pathogens transmitted by food has always posed health threats, and bird flu. “It is not unthreatening at the moment,” said Dr. Coleman.

Owners whose animals are doing well on a specific raw feeding for pets – and do not want or cannot suddenly go to a novel product – they can significantly reduce the risk by cooking food before serving.

Dr. Coleman said that pets owners should also apply it as an opportunity to better familiarize themselves with what is in food, that they serve their animals. People who have questions or fears can contact pets companies to ask where they acquire their ingredients and what food safety measures are in place. “And if they can’t answer these very uncomplicated questions, it’s your answer – stop buying your product,” said Dr. Coleman.

People should also try to limit the contact of their animals with birds – and in general wild animals – and report unwell and dead birds to local officials.