Vet plays down fears after cat's bird flu death

A leading veterinary expert sought to play down fears amongst pet owners today after the first case was reported in Europe of a cat dying from the deadly strain of bird flu.

Cats have not played any significant role to date in the spread of bird flu and owners should keep the case in perspective, Dr Bob McCracken, avian flu spokesman for the British Veterinary Association, said.

“I think some people do not realise that this is not a new finding, it has been known now for two or three years in south-east Asia in both domestic cats and big cats in the zoo,” he said.

“We know that there has been no significant role to date by those cats in the spread of avian flu.”

His remarks come after pet owners on the island Ruegen in the Baltic were advised to keep their cats indoors after the death of a domestic cat from the deadly H5N1 strain.

Dozens of birds have already been found with the disease on the island and it is thought that the cat had eaten an infected one.

The case has raised fears that cats could help bird flu mutate to become a flu pandemic.

It comes as national veterinary experts from across the EU will today meet for crisis talks on the spread of bird flu in Europe.

Sweden became the ninth EU member state to be affected by the outbreak when it confirmed that the virus was discovered in two wild ducks.