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Veterinarian in NYC contracts avian influenza from cat
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ATLANTA — A veterinarian in New York City was the first person in the United States to contract an avian influenza A virus from a cat, according to researchers.
The infection occurred late in 2016 during an outbreak of influenza A(H7N2) among cats at an animal shelter in Manhattan, according to Christopher T. Lee, MD, Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officer at the CDC, and colleagues.
Lee and colleagues said the patient collected oropharyngeal samples from cats at the shelter without using a respirator. According to their report, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) was notified of the outbreak on Dec. 14. In an attempt to assess the human risk, Lee and colleagues interviewed hundreds of people who either adopted a cat from the affected shelter or who worked there between Nov. 12 and Dec. 29.
Initially, no cases were located, only suspected cases — people who developed either conjunctivitis or a number of other symptoms within 10 days of being exposed to cats at the shelter.
“This outbreak demonstrates the importance of close collaboration between human and animal health specialists for emerging diseases,” Lee told Infectious Disease News.
Lee and colleagues interviewed and tested 165 of the 265 people who worked at the shelter but did not find evidence of H7N2 infection. Likewise, among 188 people who adopted cats from the shelter during the investigation period, three were tested and all were negative for H7N2 RNA.
The patient who eventually tested positive for H7N2 began experiencing symptoms including sore throat, myalgia and cough on Dec. 18 and reported them to the DOHMH the following day, according to Lee and colleagues. Nasopharyngeal samples collected on Dec. 19 and Dec. 20 were positive and negative, respectively, for H7N2 RNA, and the patient recovered without being hospitalized, they said. Contact tracing revealed no further human cases, even among passengers who shared a flight with the patient, according to Lee and colleagues.
"We were able to rapidly respond to a potentially pandemic influenza strain by using the public health emergency capacity we developed during Ebola, Legionnaire's disease, and more recently, Zika virus,” Lee said. – by Gerard Gallagher
Reference:
Lee CT, et al. Identification of cat-to-human transmission during an outbreak of influenza A (H7N2) among cats in an animal shelter — New York City, 2016. Presented at: Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference; April 24-27, 2017; Atlanta.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.