In Valsamoggia, in the province of Bologna, Italy, a case of avian influenza was detected in a cat. The animal resided near the poultry of a small family farm, which had already been affected by the infection and subjected to preventive suppression of the specimens. The positivity was diagnosed at the Forlì headquarters of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna and subsequently confirmed by the National Reference Center for Avian Influenza. Presently, the Veterinary Service of the AUSL of Bologna is conducting preliminary tests on another cohabiting cat to contain the spread of the virus. According to Pierluigi Viale, a professor at the University of Bologna, stray cats can contract the ‘bird flu’ in rural contexts. However, for domestic cats that live in apartments, the exposure to the risk of getting sick is very low. Avian influenza continues to cause concern for human infections as well. The year 2024 saw a significant upsurge in avian flu cases in humans, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting 79 cases globally – the highest number since 2015. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s Director-General, has emphasized that although the H5N1 virus does not currently transmit between humans, each new infection poses a risk of mutation.
January 17, 2025
