Dozens of cats in Poland had avian flu, but the risk to humans is low, the UN health agency says

The World Health Organization said more than two dozen cats across Poland have been infected with the avian flu, but no humans appear to be sick.

In a statement on Monday, the UN health agency said it was the first time so many cats had avian flu in such a wide geographic area in one country amid an unprecedented global outbreak of the latest H5N1 strain. of the disease.

The WHO said Polish authorities notified agency officials of the unusual deaths of more than 45 cats in 13 geographic regions of the country late last month. Testing last week showed that 29 had H5N1.

Since June, the most recent variant of H5N1 has been reported in birds and other animal species in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. As of 2020, a dozen human cases have been reported, according to the WHO.

Scientists worry that rising cases of H5N1, especially in animals that have frequent contact with humans, could lead to a mutated version of the disease that could easily spread between humans and trigger a new pandemic.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, many experts suspected that the next global outbreak would be fueled by H5N1.

But while avian flu has killed hundreds of millions of birds worldwide, it has sickened fewer than 900 people since 2003 and has not been able to spread easily among humans.

The WHO said it was unclear how Poland’s domestic cats became infected with the bird flu and said officials are still investigating possible sources of exposure, including contact with wild birds known to carry H5N1.

The agency said the risk of people in Poland becoming infected with bird flu was “low” and “low to moderate” for people exposed to cats, including cat owners and veterinarians.

Last week, WHO and partners warned that the increasing number of mammals infected with H5N1 was unusual. Experts have previously warned that pigs, which are susceptible to flu viruses from both humans and birds, could act as a “mixing vessel,” leading to the emergence of mutated viruses that can be deadly to humans.

Since last year, authorities in 10 countries have reported outbreaks of bird flu in mammals, including farmed minks in Spain, seals in the US and sea lions in Peru and Chile.