We are happy to have the COVID pandemic behind us, however experts warn of another emerging health threat: bird flu. The strain is known as H5N1 and it has now infected 3 people inside the United States. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.
When researchers talk about their biggest bird flu fears, one that typically comes up involves an animal — like a pig — becoming simultaneously infected with an avian and a human flu. This creature, now a viral mixing vessel, provides the medium for a superbug to develop — one that takes the killer genes from the bird flu and combines it with the human variety’s knack for easy infection.
“I think companion animals definitely need to be in the picture,” said Jane Sykes, professor of medicine and epidemiology at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, describing the viewpoint that diseases such as H5N1 should be viewed from a human, animal and ecosystem lens. None operates in isolation.
“While traditional companion animals such as dogs, cats and horses have a long history of such close contact with humans, giving thousands of years for us to develop natural immunity to commonly shared pathogens, it is the new situations that carry most risk,” he said, including “raw pet food of uncertain origin.”
Raw pet food typically consists of uncooked meat, bones, fruits and vegetables. The diets are often marketed as “natural” or similar to what animals would eat in the wild.Jay Van Rein, spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said the state’s Meat, Poultry and Egg Safety Branch licenses and inspects businesses that produce raw meat — as well as those that import raw products for pet food manufacturing.
Janell Goodwin, a spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration, said “all animal food must be safe, wholesome and not misbranded.”
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