CDC says cats died on Texas farm after drinking raw milk from cows infected with bird flu

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed in a report on Monday that more than half of the cats on a Texas farm that drank contaminated milk from cows that were infected with bird flu, got sick and died. 

Scientists reported that in March about two dozen cats were given raw milk from cows that were unknowingly infected with the avian flu, called highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). But a day after the cows showed symptoms of the flu, the cats also showed symptoms and a day or two later, half died. 

The preliminary report, which comes as the bird flu spreads rapidly through the cattle industry, is significant because it raises concerns about the transmission of viruses across different species.

“The magnitude of this finding is further emphasized by the high death rate (≈50%) of cats on farm premises that were fed raw colostrum and milk from affected cows,” the scientists wrote in the report, per The Hill. 

The scientists also noted in a postmortem examination of two of the dead cats “a depressed mental state, stiff body movements, ataxia, blindness, circling, and copious oculonasal discharge.”  

The avian flu has spread among cows in several states, including Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Idaho, and Ohio. But it has also impacted more than 90 million chickens since 2022, and more than 9,000 wild birds, according to Reuters.

Only one person has been infected with the virus this year, the CDC noted. A worker on a farm in Texas presented with pink eye last month, and tested positive for HPAI. The patient did not have any other symptoms, and was given antiviral medication. No family members of the patient have reported any symptoms.

“No additional cases of human infection with the HPAI A(H5N1) virus associated with the current infections in dairy cattle and birds in the United States, and no human-to-human transmission of HPAI A(H5N1) virus have been identified,” the CDC said.

The CDC also recommended that although the chances of humans contracting the bird flu are slim, people who work with animals that could potentially be infected with the virus should take precautions.