Health officials are investigating how two cats in separate households in New York City became infected with H5 avian influenza, the virus that causes bird flu.
Acting Commissioner of the New York City Health Department, Dr. Michelle Morse, said local, state, and federal animal health officials and her department are involved in the probe.
“Bird flu in cats has been confirmed elsewhere in the United States,” she said in a March 14 statement.
“The current risk to New Yorkers of bird flu remains low,” Morse said. “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.”…