ROME, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Cats infected with the bird flu have been found near poultry markets in Indonesia, the United Nations says.
So far there is no evidence of sustained transmission of the H5N1 virus in cats or from cats to humans, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in a press release Thursday.
The cats appear to have gotten the disease by eating infected poultry around markets in Java and Sumatra, Indonesia. The FAO said it will conduct studies there to determine where and how the cats are becoming infected.
"This raises some concern not only because cats could act as intermediary hosts in the spread of the H5N1 virus between species but also because growth in cats might help the H5N1 virus to adapt into a more highly infectious strain that could spark an influenza pandemic," said FAO Assistant Director-General Alexander Müller.
The FAO is not recommending that cats be killed to control the H5N1 virus, but it is recommending that cats be kept away from bird populations vulnerable to the virus. A mass slaughter of cats could lead to a surge in the rodent population, the FAO said.
