Two cats in numerous households in New York Metropolis had been contaminated with chicken flu, the town’s Well being Division introduced Friday.
Officers didn’t disclose the cats’ circumstances and are nonetheless investigating how they contracted the virus, however urged pet house owners to not let their felines roam open air or feed them uncooked meals or uncooked milk — frequent methods avian influenza will be transmitted.
“The current risk to New Yorkers of bird flu remains low,” Michelle Morse, performing commissioner of the New York Metropolis Well being Division, stated in a press release. “Bird flu viruses present a wider risk to the general public only if the virus develops the ability to transmit between people — which we have not seen.”
It’s doable for folks to catch chicken flu from animals, nonetheless, in accordance with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. For the reason that begin of the present outbreak in 2022, 70 folks have been contaminated with chicken flu, one in every of whom died, in accordance with the CDC.
On Feb. 7, after detection of avian flu at seven reside poultry markets in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered all reside chicken markets in New York Metropolis, plus Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau counties, 82 fowl markets in all, to shut for per week, and to be cleaned and disinfected.
Initially Printed: March 14, 2025 at 11:55 PM EDT
