bird flu found in austrian cats

Bird flu found in Austrian cats

From correspondents in Vienna
07mar06

THE deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in cats in the southern Austrian region of Styria, a government spokeswoman said today.

The spokeswoman for the regional government's minister of agriculture and health confirmed the virus was H5N1 and was found in several cats in Styria.

Germany last week reported the first European case of H5N1 bird flu in a domestic cat on the northern island of Ruegen, an area where several wild birds have died from the virus.

Experimental studies suggest the cats could be infected with the virus when they eat the raw meat of infected birds.

Styria, a largely rural area on the border to Slovenia, has had several cases of bird flu in wild swans and ducks, and was one of the first in Europe with H5N1 in domestic ducks and chicken in an animal sanctuary where they were kept with swans.