Iowa cat first feline to get swine flu
4 November 2009
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Health officials in Iowa have diagnosed the nation’s first cat with swine flu.
The 13-year-old indoor cat apparently caught the H1N1 virus from a member of its household of the human variety. Such human-to-feline transmissions have occurred with other strains of flu, so it’s not all that surprising.
The cat has recovered since the initial diagnosis, as have both ill humans in the house. The feline joins pigs, birds, and ferrets as those with confirmed cases of H1N1 in the animal kingdom.
This is no cause for alarm, says a state veterinarian. “Animal to human transmission is very rare. It’s much more likely for an animal to catch it from a human.” Nice, tell that to the kid who got it first…
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