Can pets catch H1N1 flu from humans?Byline: ANI Washington, November 9 (ANI): A case of an indoor 13-year-old house cat in Iowa who has contracted the deadly H1N1 flu while living with two flu-sick owners has fuelled concerns if the illness can spread from humans to animals. The Iowa Department of Public Health confirmed the latest H1N1 animal case, renewing interest on the topic of humans as the primary carriers of the illness. "We're seeing reverse zoonosis reverse zoonosis infections transmitted from humans to animals. , with the virus jumping from people to animals," Discovery News quoted Alfonso Torres as saying. But the former chief veterinary officer of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. who is now associate dean for public policy at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine veterinary medicine, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of animals. An early interest in animal diseases is found in ancient Greek writings on medicine. Veterinary medicine began to achieve the stature of a science with the organization of the first school in the added: "In theory, cats could infect infect /in·fect/ (in-fekt´) 1. to invade and produce infection in. 2. to transmit a pathogen or disease to. in·fect v. 1. humans, but there is no evidence for that yet." Though the reason behind why ferrets and cats may be more at risk to H1N1 flu is yet to be determined, Torres explained that "viruses need receptors" to allow infection of an individual. Torres said: "The human H1N1 vaccine may or may not work in cats. There are some 60 million cats and only the one reported case, so the risk of other cats becoming infected appears to be low at this point." Michael San Filippo, a spokesperson for the American Veterinary Medical Association American Veterinary Medical Association a nonprofit, professional organization of veterinarians in the USA, whose stated objective is to advance the science and art of veterinary medicine, including its relationship to public health and agriculture. , further said the cat H1N1 case "provides a good reminder that viruses can pass from humans to animals." (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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