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Over the weekend, the Missouri Department of Health, and later the CDC, issued statements announcing that a person in the state had tested positive for H5N1 avian flu without any known contact with animals. That person had already been hospitalized two weeks before and has since recovered and been discharged. This late announcement was surprising, in part because it didn’t alert local doctors to be on the lookout and test flu-like symptoms to determine if they were related to H5N1. While we’re not overly concerned just yet, this is certainly important to keep an eye on: the 2009 swine flu outbreak was first identified when two children without contact with pigs were diagnosed. That’s not to say that a larger outbreak is what’s happening here - we have very limited information. It’s possible that this person had some close contact with farmworkers or exposure to wild bird droppings at their backyard bird feeder, drank raw milk, or even just has a cat. We have more questions than answers at this point, and we’re not panicking by any means. We’ll continue to keep a close watch on the situation and share important news as it’s reported.
While the overall risk to domestic cats is low, there have been a number of cats that have died from H5N1 bird flu, and a few have gotten sick even though they live indoors. In general, cats that drink infected milk on dairy have been getting very sick. About half of the cats died on the two Texas farms where H5N1 was first identified. Other outdoor cats have gotten sick, and some have died after picking up or eating dead wild birds that were likely infected. But troublingly, at least two indoor cats in Colorado got sick, as well, without any known link to wild birds or dairy cows. It’s possible that they caught infected mice around the house or perhaps were served raw pet food containing contaminated meat or milk. The strain of H5N1 that infected all 6 domestic cats in Colorado was genetically the same as the one linked to dairy farm outbreaks. In general, there’s a low risk that your domestic cat could spread bird flu to you - while it is possible, it’s rare, and cats generally don’t spread flu to other animals. You can take precautions like keeping your cats indoors and away from dead animals and taking them to the vet if they have respiratory or neurological symptoms.
Source: USA Today
Ahead of Francine’s expected landfall on the Louisiana coast tomorrow morning, we’re hearing of hurricane prep meetings across our client base. We’ll focus on items on the to-do list that can be forgotten in the hustle and bustle of boarding up windows and other property protection. One of the most overlooked aspects is making sure that your hurricane response plans and key contact info are accessible offline - we like to have managers in high-risk areas actually print it while they still have power, in case their phones die later. Make sure they know when to close and when they can partially open with restricted service. Preparing for power outages is key, including turning walk-ins to a low temp, and having accurate time and temperature logs for food safety. Reiterate to any restaurant managers that throwing away food that’s “on the edge” is cheaper than causing foodborne illness. After the hurricane, everything from flooding to water supply issues to pests may affect when to reopen safely. ZHH can help your disaster response and reopening plans in the event of an emergency, so don’t hesitate to reach out for support.
Sources: Steritech, Ready.gov, NRA