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Bird-flu cats reject virus
07/03/2006 17:13 - (SA)
Vienna - Three cats were at one point carriers of the H5N1 bird flu virus in the southern Austrian province of Styria, but two of them have since rejected the virus, says a health official.
The potentially deadly H5N1 virus was found in samples taken on February 22 by mouth swab from three cats in an animal shelter near the town of Graz, Oskar Wawschinek, spokesperson for the Austrian health and food safety organisation (AGES) told AFP.
But subsequent tests showed two of the cats no longer carried the virus.
"Nothing remained, nothing developed, they did not become ill" he said, explaining the cats had fought off the virus as humans can fight off a cold virus to avoid becoming sick.
However, for a few days, all three cats were carriers of the H5N1 virus and could have transmitted it to other animals, Wawschinek said.
Tests are therefore being conducted on all 170 cats that were kept at the Noah's Ark shelter in Graz.
The third cat that carried the H5N1 virus, is still undergoing tests to confirm the presence of the potentially deadly virus, Wawschinek said.
- AFP
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