Understanding how the current H5N1 virus is affecting wild and domestic animals is a mission of the Colorado State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The VDL runs as many as 600 samples on a busy day, including a growing number from cats. The VDL has detected outbreaks in commercial poultry and backyard poultry flocks, dairy cattle, domestic pet cats, wild birds and a variety of wild mammal species, including mountain lions, foxes, mice, wild raptors and many others.
This article includes a Q & A <Link> from a discussion CSU’s Christopher Outcalt had with Kristy Pabilonia, DVM, PhD, DACVM, about the most recent influenza outbreaks.
Source: Western Farm Press, April 1, 2025. Link. Everyone working on control of avian influenza knows how important it is to eradicate the virus from specific populations because we’re always concerned about the ability of influenza to adapt. We always want to decrease the virus in populations to prevent changes that could result in more human infection or human-to-human transmission.
My general concern is that we’re seeing the <H5N1> virus in multiple species . . . It is not going away.” – Kristy Pabilonia, D.V.M., Ph.D., DACVM
Related: H5N1: A feline case study and expert insights on managing cases in practice, AAHA Trends, March 28, 2025. Link. A case study regarding a 10-year-old spayed female domestic shorthair cat was presented to a veterinary clinic and several experts provided information and resources to help manage feline H5N1 cases.
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