Cats could carry avian flu, and potentially transmit it to humans. A veterinary virologist from Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), Pierre Bessière, looked into the question. After analyzing 600 blood samples, the scientist estimates that 13 animals are positive. A worrying situation, which researchers are monitoring closely.
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The research of Pierre Bessière, virologist at the National Veterinary School of Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), consists in part of monitoring infectious agents that have the possibility of being transmitted from one species to another.
Pierre Bessière, veterinarian and virologist at ENV in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne).
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© Julie Valin – FTV
The veterinarian looked into the question of the possible transmission of the H5N1 virus to humans, through cats, after discovering that the animal could be a carrier.
Around ten cats positive for avian flu
To analyze the virus, the scientist collects blood samples taken from cats by veterinarians in France. “The idea was to target cats that had access to the outdoors and not be interested in cats that lived strictly indoors. In total, we had 800 samples, for the moment, it There are just under 600 that have been analyzed. Of the 600, there have been 13 positive animals. Two stray cats and 11 owner cats.
Also read: In Mauléon in Deux-Sèvres, after the fatal infection of a cat with avian flu, the caution of the specialist in this virus
The researcher therefore estimates a positivity rate of just over 2%. “If we extrapolate our results to those of the total population, we will arrive at data between 0.5 and 1% of French cats who may have encountered the virus at some point in their lives.”In France, around 15 million cats live in the territory, a large part of which has access to the outside environment.
The results surprised the scientist: “I didn’t expect there to be so many, after all, it’s somewhat in agreement with another study published by colleagues in the Netherlands. The cat is an animal that lives in interface between the domestic world and the wild world, cats which have access to the outdoors, in the countryside or elsewhere will be exposed to birds, especially as they hunt. So it is this predatory behavior that will occur. put them in contact with the virus, via infected birds. “
For the scientist, it was important to know whether the H5N1 virus could also be transmitted to humans through cats. “H5N1 can be transmitted to humans. Theoretically, it is possible, but to date, it is exceptional. With an infected cat, there are measures that still need to be taken, but it’s really very rare.”
For Pierre Bessière, viruses can adapt to a species when they contaminate it: “Influenza viruses mutate quite easily, and when they pass from one species to another, they acquire mutations that allow them to multiply more easily in that species. So if a virus passes from birds to cats, mutations will appear to adapt to cats. And if the virus can adapt to cats, it can adapt to mammals, and therefore it can affect humans. However, this remains rare.
We are far from having a pandemic virus
Pierre Bessière, virologist at the National Veterinary School
If the situation is taken seriously by the researchers, the virologist wants to be reassuring. “For a virus to be effectively transmitted between individuals, it must multiply within the respiratory system, so that it can escape during interactions. A duck has a body temperature of around 42 degrees, a cat 38, and if we look at the temperature of a human being, it is 37 degrees. The temperature of the trachea is 33 degrees. The strains of H5N1 currently circulating are not operational at this temperature.”
