A rare strain of bird flu has flown through New York City’s animal shelters. So far, 500 cats have been quarantined and 386 of the them have tested positive for the H7N2 virus — the first time the disease has even been found in cats, officials said.
Source: New York Post, January 12, 2017.
Collecting cats from shelters in all corners of the city, city officials have locked up about 500 felines in a quarantine facility to stop the outbreak. Workers have no plans to put down any of the sick cats and instead will treat them for the virus, which has baffled the medical staff.
Even though the H7N2 virus is considered only slightly transmittable to humans, workers are taking no chances — wearing hazmat suits whenever they are in the room with the infected felines.