AVMA announces first confirmed case of H1N1 virus in a cat

November 4, 11:34 PMCats ExaminerHeidi Wiesenfelder

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AP Photo/William Fernando Martinez

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) announced today that a 13-year old Iowa cat tested positive for the H1N1 virus. This is the first confirmation of H1N1 (formerly known as "swine flu") in a feline.

The cat is recovering from being sick, and AVMA reports that no evidence suggests the cat passed on H1N1 to any people. In fact, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reports that the people in the cat's family exhibited flu-like symptoms before the cat got sick.

It is possible that the cat caught the virus from a person, but reports do not indicate whether the people that the cat spent time with were tested for H1N1. IDPH notes that the virus can be passed from people to animals.

For more information about transmission of H1N1 and the myths already sprouting up online, check out Steve Dale's new blog post, "The Truth About Swine Flu In A Cat."

Sources: AVMA, IDPH

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