Just reading that a Portland, Oregon pet food maker has recalled products from Canada after a cat died of bird flu.
Many US cattle herds are infected with the virus and it seems that it can spread down the food chain.
Edited to add. I doubt that this specific product could be imported to Switzerland however many dry pet foods including beef can be.
Two issues here; first the factory farming so prevalent in the States - this is likely to be the source of the next pandemic virus, not a Chinese lab. Secondly the fashion for raw pet food. No evidence raw food is better for the pets. Lots of evidence that raw food is much more likely to contain pathogens. If the raw food is the waste meat from factory farms the risk is multiplied.
Suspect the same thing happened here.
H5N1 is spreading here as well, 2 wildlife cases have been identified this year. You might see it called HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza, hochpathogene aviäre Influenza).
Here’s the BAG with a recent urgent bulletin:
Something not often mentioned is people who have babies and feed their pets raw pet food then leave the unwashed dishes on the floor so the baby crawls around and licks the dishes.
Probably responsible for more illnesses than we know.
Either that, or a very robust immune system!!
It looks like about half the cat owners have been infected with Toxoplasmosis. That will easily amount to 20-30% of the adult population around here.
Apply proper hygiene to largely reduce the risk of infection, in particular use gloves when handling cat litter and feces.
" The first severe human case of bird flu in the United States carries a virus that has mutated inside his body to adapt to the human respiratory tract, according to the CDC. However, specialists put the danger into perspective.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on December 18 that an elderly patient was hospitalized in Louisiana in “critical condition” after being infected with H5N1. A small portion of the virus found in his throat has genetic changes that may result in “increased binding of the virus” to certain “human upper respiratory tract cell receptors,” the CDC revealed Thursday."
Yet, cats are at risk of contracting avian influenza (H5N1), particularly through exposure to infected wild birds, poultry, or contaminated raw food and milk. Both domestic and wild cats are highly susceptible, with a mortality rate as high as 67% in some cases. Symptoms include respiratory and neurological issues, lethargy, and eye discharge. To reduce risk, keep cats indoors, avoid feeding them raw or unpasteurized products, and prevent contact with wild birds or infected animals.