CDC Confirms: Mutated H7N2 Virus Transmitted from Cat to Human in the US

Tuesday, January 3, 2017
By Paul Martin

DaisyLuther.com
January 2, 2017

Anyone who has ever watched a movie like Outbreak or Contagion knows that all pandemics start with Patient Zero. Maybe an infected monkey escapes from a lab. Maybe a farmer in China contracts something from a pig. There is always some seemingly insignificant interaction with some type of mutation that occurs in a far-off place that results in a global catastrophe.

While these are fictional examples, they’re not so far from the truth. That’s why it is smart to be alert when an unprecedented mutation or transmission occurs. That doesn’t mean a pandemic is necessarily going to erupt, but it means you should be aware the possibility exists.

So, when a cat in an animal shelter in New York City transmits a virus to a human who worked at the shelter, it has all the markings of a movie plot…or a potential pandemic.

The CDC has confirmed a virus was passed from feline to human

For only the third time in the US, avian flu H7N2 has passed from an animal to a human. Usually transmitted to people who have been handling infected poultry, this case has been passed to a human from a cat. (Does this give whole new mean to the phrase, “the cat that ate the canary” or what?)

From the CDC website:

H7N2 is an influenza virus that normally circulates in birds. Avian influenza viruses, commonly known as “bird flu” or “avian flu,” do not normally infect humans, but rare cases of human infection have occurred in the past. Most often, human infections with bird flu viruses result from direct contact with infected birds.

Recently CDC became aware of an outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza A (H7N2) virus (LPAI H7N2) among cats in animal shelters in New York City. One human infection was detected in a person who had close, prolonged unprotected exposure to the respiratory secretions of H7N2 infected, sick cats at an affected shelter. For people who are in close contact with infected cats, the risk of infection is thought to be low. However, it is possible that additional human infections could occur.

Research suggests that is reasonable, possible, and likely that low-pathogenic avian viruses will ultimately mutate or recombine with far more virulent viruses. This will pose significant health implications for humans.

The potential for pandemic

The Rest…HERE

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