Bird flu has been detected in mammals on the Texas panhandle, including skunks, raccoons, and foxes. Cats have also been identified with tests that came back positive for bird flu. While we have told domestic pet cats have been infected and died of bird flu, the inclusion of skunks and raccoons is new.
11 Cats In Colorado Test Positive For Bird Flu As More Cat Food Is Recalled
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Department of State Health Services Zoonosis Control branch, and the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab detected the infections in Deaf Smith, Hansford, Lubbock, Ochiltree, Parmer, and Randall counties.
“For mammals, current data shows transmission occurs primarily through consumption of infected animal carcasses, though mammal-to-mammal transmission is possible,” Texas Parks and Wildlife officials said in a news release. “Clinical Signs of (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) in mammals may vary based on species and can include ataxia (incoordination, stumbling), tremors, seizures, lack of fear of people, lethargy, runny or crusty eyes and nose, coughing and sneezing, or sudden death.”
In February, the CDC identified three other human cases of bird flu: a dairy cow worker in Nevada, a poultry worker in Ohio, and the owner of an infected backyard poultry flock in Wyoming.
Bird flu’s risk to the public remains low, health officials say, but fatalities have been recorded. One person in Louisiana died after being hospitalized with the virus, marking the first bird flu death in the U.S., the CDC announced in January.
Three People In China Infected With H9N2 Bird Flu
According to a report by The San Antonio Express News, last month, a 3-year-old girl in the northern state of Coahuila in Mexico died after contracting the bird flu, Coahuila Health Minister Eliud Aguirre told Reuters. She was infected with the same strain of bird flu involved in the death of the Louisiana resident, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Health officials are still investigating how the child was infected, but she had no underlying conditions or history of travel, according to the Times.
Remember, Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates previously funded a study that said bird flu would become the next deadly pandemic. While there has been a slight lull in reporting on the bird flu in favor or war mongering, the media seems to have latched back on, however mildly, to the bird flu narrative, at least for the time being.
Research Funded By Fauci And Gates Could See Bird Flu Become The Next Deadly Pandemic
Read the full article here