20 big cats – including a Bengal tiger and four cougars – have died of bird flu at an animal shelter in Washington state over the past several weeks.
“This tragedy has deeply affected our team, and we are all saddened by the loss of these incredible animals,” Washington’s Wildlife Advocacy Center wrote in a Facebook post.
Devastating viral infections, carried by wild birds, are spread mainly through respiratory secretions and bird-to-bird contact and can also be contracted by mammals that eat birds or other products.
The shelter is under quarantine and closed to the public to prevent the spread of the virus, the statement said.
Sanctuary director Mark Matthews said the animals died between late November and mid-December. The New York Times.
“We didn’t have anything like that; they usually die of old age,” he said. “Nothing, it’s a very evil virus.”
The news comes as bird flu continues to spread among cattle and chickens in the United States, while also seriously affecting at least one human.
The shelter said it has lost five African serval cats, four bobcats, two Canada lynx and a Bengal tiger, among others. There are now only 17 cats left at the center.
“Cats are particularly susceptible to the virus, which may cause initial symptoms but can progress rapidly, often resulting in death within 24 hours from pneumonia-like conditions”. Facebook statement on Friday.
Bird flu has long plagued poultry flocks in the United States. But the virus first began infecting cattle in the United States in March.
And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of April 2024, a total of 61 human cases of bird flu have been reported in the United States.
The CDC says the risk to the general public is low, and there is no permanent human-to-human transmission.
Most have reported mild symptoms, although this month a person in Louisiana was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu.
Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the outbreak in the state’s dairy cows so that the government “needs the resources and flexibility to respond quickly to this outbreak.”