In case it's of any interest, it looks like the two recent really wicked cases (Canada and Louisiana) of bird flu (H5N1) were both of the same genotype (D1.1), which is not the one (B3.13) that's been popping up in dairy cattle and/or poultry farms. D1.1 seems to be coming from wild birds. Not sure which of the two is the one that kills domestic cats - apparently several died from drinking infected milk (so probably B3.13), but others apparently got it from some sort of meat. Since outdoor cats are prone to hunting birds, one has to wonder. I believe if I had an outdoor cat I'd be training it to be an indoor one, immediately.
But for those bored and needing something to read - here's a list of recent cases.
https://bnonews.com/index.php/human-cases-of-h5n1-bird-flu/ Makes one wonder if catching the milder dairy-cow variety might protect a bit from the nastier D1.1....? Whatever. It'll play out as it plays out. We already have bleach, masks, and hand-sanitizer in the house, should they become necessary ("been there, done that"). Willing to bet a fiver that governments don't do what should have been done at the start of Covid for this one, as well. Although I think I read that the UK government was ordering flu vaccines like mad. Smart move. Hope it works for whatever mutation finally pops up - I know that they have to be tailored to the specific strain to work. But at least you have that. We're stuck with a guy incoming who recommended horse de-wormer for Covid who wants to put an anti-vax guy in charge of...., no, not going there. Will just get heartburn from it. Not much hope there.
EDIT: So they may have found what killed the cats who were indoor-only who hadn't been given infected raw milk .
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/25/us/bird-flu-pet-food-voluntary-recall/index.html
