Swine flu toll includes a few pets
A handful of pets have been sickened with swine flu in recent weeks, but here are doctors' orders: Wash your hands and don't panic.
The virus, also known as H1N1, has been diagnosed in only a few cats and ferrets since it emerged in April. Veterinarians say they don't know if that is because so few animals have been tested or because so few have the disease.
"I think we're probably going to be seeing more (pet) cases in the future. There is more focus on it so people are looking harder," said Dr. Kristy Pabilonia of the Colorado State University Department of Veterinary Medicine, which confirmed two cases in cats on one day.
A 13-year-old tabby in Iowa that was having trouble breathing was the first house cat to be diagnosed. In the last two months, other cats have tested positive in Iowa, Utah and Pennsylvania. All have recovered.
Swine flu appears to be the latest disease spread between animals and humans, said Dr. Miranda Spindel, Director of Veterinary Outreach for the ASPCA based in Fort Collins, Colo. Other examples include ringworm, salmonella, plague and rabies.
However, it is rare for flu viruses to jump between species, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. And there is no evidence that humans can get swine flu from pets.
Whether doctors are treating humans or pets, they give the same advice: Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you sneeze and limit contact with others if you are ill.
Symptoms in pets may include lethargy, decreased appetite, fever, runny nose and eyes, sneezing, coughing and changes in breathing patterns. Because there have been only a few cases, Pabilonia said vets know little about the severity of the disease in house pets.
Patrice deAvila of Portland, Ore., worries her four rescue cats are more vulnerable to the swine flu than she is.
"I am very careful when I come home. I take my shoes off. I wash my hands very diligently. I try not to expose them because of the potential exposure I have," said deAvila, a patient advocate at a Portland hospital.
No cases have been reported in dogs or birds, but at least five ferrets in Nebraska and Oregon tested positive, and one died.
Pet owners should keep pets up to date on vaccinations for other diseases, make sure they are eating well, keep bowls and living spaces clean and take sick animals to the vet.
Don't panic, Spindel said. "At this time, cats appear to be dead end hosts - unable to perpetuate spread of the virus."
And one last warning from Dr. Michael Greger, a Washington-based physician and director of public health and animal agriculture for the Humane Society of the United States: Don't share human medicine with your pets. Flu drugs are dose specific, so the cure could be as dangerous to your pet as the disease, he said.