Germans panic and dump their cats as Serbia joins the bird flu list

News-Medical.net ^ | 03/05/06

[TigerLikesRooster]

Germans panic and dump their cats as Serbia joins the bird flu list

Disease/Infection News

Published: Sunday, 5-Mar-2006

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According to an animal welfare society in Germany, hundreds of cats are being left at animal shelters following the disclosure earlier in the week that a cat on the island of Ruegen had died from the deadly bird flu. The charity says they are examining the abandoned cats for any sign of illness including bird flu.

German veterinary authorities confirmed last week that a dead cat found on the Baltic island of Ruegen had been infected with the highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 bird flu that can prove fatal to humans.

Back in 2004 the disease was responsible for the deaths of both domestic and wild cats, including dozens of tigers; however the cat found on the island was the first case of an infected mammal in the European Union.

It remains unclear however whether the EU's first feline case of bird flu is added cause for concern and that people could contract the virus from cats.

Serbia too has found it's first case of a strain of bird flu in a swan found dead in a Serbian region bordering Croatia and Hungary which has tested positive for the virus.

Afghanistan is also testing samples from dead chickens and has quarantined a number of chicken farms.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued draft guidelines allowing faster approval for seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines.

It is thought the movement of migratory birds has accelerated the spread of the virus to at least 15 countries since the beginning of February.

The H5N1 bird virus has now been found in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to date the virus has killed at least 94 people since late 2003, and more than 200 million birds worldwide have been culled or died as it spreads relentlessly across Asia, Africa and Europe.

The U.S. government has apparently ordered more flu treatments for its residents in the event of a pandemic.

The Bahamas, 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Florida, is also investigating whether dead birds found there carried the H5N1 virus.

Test results are expected to be ready in days.

The Bahamas is on the doorstep of the U.S.

However the good news is that chickens that died on a farm in China's Guangdong province were cleared of bird flu; they apparently died from a parasitic disease.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong authorities have ordered the culling of 6,000 birds on a farm near the city after as many there died of an illness last month.

A 12 year old boy has died in Indonesia from bird flu-like symptoms; his brother died a day earlier.

A woman in Iraq's Nasiriya province is also suspected to have died from the H5N1 virus, and the World Health Organization has confirmed that a 39-year-old Iraqi man who died on January 27 had bird flu.

[TigerLikesRooster]

It seems that bird flu will show up pretty soon on U.S. soil. KFC and poultry industry may have a tough time ahead. Come to think of it, that includes Arkansas and Tyson Chicken.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Unexpected casualties of bird flu scare: German cats, ping!

[Supernatural]

"Dead cats, dead rats" sang Jim Morrison.

[NRA2BFree]

The retards! IF they kept their cats indoors they wouldn't have any problem. The cat that died ate an infected bird.

That said, I'm stocking up on chicken and turkey for the freezer before it hits America.

[de Buillion]

Just DARN! (hee, hee, hee!)

[taxesareforever]

Conspiracy of bird flu.

[Ronin]

If I come home coughing my five owners are libel kick ME out of the house and send out for another fat food provider and litter box cleaner.

[starbase]

Katen Nacht, March 4th, 2006.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Love Me!

Bird flu causes panic at the shelter

By Carter Dougherty International Herald Tribune
FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2006

SINGEN, Germany: Hannelore Kirchenmaier burst into the animal shelter here Thursday needing advice after a chain of events turned the town's household pets into objects of angst.

First, a stray cat died of bird flu on the German island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea. Before long, the German authorities decreed that all cats needed to be kept indoors throughout swatches of terrain where wild birds infected with the flu have been found, including Singen. They also said that dogs should be on leashes when they are outside.

All this caused a small panic among Kirchenmaier and millions of other pet owners in Germany. Household pets, overnight, had become four-legged bundles of trouble.

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Kirchenmaier.

Click here for more of the article.

[HereInTheHeartland]

"Come to think of it, that includes Arkansas and Tyson Chicken."

Don't forget who purchased IBP, the largest (largest I think) producer of beef and pork, it was Tyson.
The pork and beef side will sure help them if the poultry "Armagedon" happens.

[Supernatural]

What are we supposed to do?" asked Kirchenmaier.

Punt!

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #10

Wooo, they are moving fast. So how should this play out to make Tyson totally bankrupt? I welcome your insight.:)

[Just Lori]

Not a bad idea.

[Slings and Arrows]

People suck.

[Kaylee Frye]

Agreed. :(

[jec41]

I don't eat chicken and I have never liked cats.

[RichInOC]

What are we supposed to do?" asked Kirchenmaier.

Punt!

I laughed. Is that wrong?

[Supernatural]

No, you got it!

Warms my heart...

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

Ditto. Domestic cats should be kept indoors, where they would never come into contact with infected birds. End of worry.

[Supernatural]

Katen Nacht, March 4th, 2006.

Night of the dead and abandoned cats. LOL!

[jocon307]

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Kirchenmaier.

That's the line!

[RHINO369]

People are so silly. People worry about things that have effectively zero chance of harming them, yet willing speed around in cars, smoke cigarettes, etc etc.

[Ronin]

Yes, very wrong.

But I laughed too.

[pbmaltzman]

Please put me on your kitty ping list.

BTW, cute tortoiseshell cat in your pix... long-haired torties are my favorite cats.

[ex-Texan]

Have no fear, Sneaky Pie Brown is on the case.

[To Hell With Poverty]

Aw, what a little cutie face! I just love kitties who have that sweet inquisitive look to them. What pretty green eyes too! You can tell by the way he's standing that he's just waiting for the cameraman to pet him.

If I was in Germany I'd take 'em!

[HereInTheHeartland]

"I welcome your insight.:)"

I'm not a Tyson fan; just pointing out that they are way more tham chicken.

[elli1]

Belgium Owners Release Pets (pet birds) in Bird Flu Scare

[clyde asbury]

How you behave toward cats here below determines your status in Heaven.

Robert A. Heinlein

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #28

I am sure that in Belgium there are now many parrots out in the open. They might really catch bird flu.

[joesnuffy]

Hate to live in a world without eggs...

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #31

Try some fish eggs.:) Some of them are really good.

[Fintan]

 

From what I hear, some of these cats aren't exactly thrilled about being taken to shelters.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #33

So they refuse to move unless Gestapo agents move in and burn up their tails?

[elli1]

More.

Pets (Birds) Dumped Amid Bird Flu Fears (England)

[Kenny Bunk]

German cats, ping!

Deutsches Katzen faring quite a bit better than Chats Français did during an AIDS scare in France. When it was announced in the press that cats might be an AIDS vector, the next day you could have walked across the Seine on yesterday's pets!

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #35

Love for birds can only last so long. I wonder what will happen if somebody really dies of bird flu. I am sure they will kill all pet birds and cats. Soon they will start to kill their neighbor on the suspicion of catching bird flu even though they catch an ordinary flu.

[Slings and Arrows]

You're added.

My favorite cat is whichever one I'm petting at any given moment.

[austinmark]

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, YA DIRTY COPPERS!"

[Aliska]

IF they kept their cats indoors they wouldn't have any problem. The cat that died ate an infected bird.

Sounds like they are overreacting. I wouldn't dump my cat unless it got really, really bad to the point I thought I didn't have any other choice.

Poor animals. They will probably be euthanized.

[NRA2BFree]

Ditto. Domestic cats should be kept indoors, where they would never come into contact with infected birds. End of worry.

My cats are indoor cats only. There are too many other bad things that can happen to them outdoors. They are so much fun, and they keep me company. In exchange for that, I feed them well and keep a clean litter box for them and me. I think they're worth the effort. :o)

[gitmo]

Good post, Fintan.

[gitmo]

Odd. My cat has elected to be an outdoor cat ever since I brought a bulldog home.

[NRA2BFree]

Odd. My cat has elected to be an outdoor cat ever since I brought a bulldog home.

Gee, I wonder why. LOL!! I'm afraid I'd be sleeping outside with the cat too. He looks pretty ferocious to me too. ;o)

[rhetorica]

I'm supposed to clean the litter box????

[NRA2BFree]

I'm supposed to clean the litter box????

Only when it drives you out of the house. LOL!

[impatient]

Life is slowly but surely starting to mirror the _Planet of the Apes_ novels.

[NRA2BFree]

<>Sounds like they are overreacting. I wouldn't dump my cat unless it got really, really bad to the point I thought I didn't have any other choice.

Poor animals. They will probably be euthanized.

As long as you keep your cats indoors, there will be no way the bird flu can affect them. Only those who run loose outside can come into contact with a bird that has bird flu. I'm sure you're right about those cats being put down. All because their owners didn't use good judgment. Very sad, indeed.

[Lauren BaRecall]

These people are panicking. WHY???

How stupid can human beings get???

[Lauren BaRecall]

These people were warned to keep their cats indoors, so what did they do? They exclaimed, "Now what will we do???"

I can't believe so many people are just plain born stupid.