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H5N1 in Dogs and Cats
Recombinomics Commentary
February 14, 2006
In an unpublished study carried out last year by the National Institute of Animal Health in Bangkok, researchers led by virologist Sudarat Damrongwatanapokin tested 629 village dogs and 111 cats in the Suphan Buri district of central Thailand. Out of these, 160 dogs and 8 cats had antibodies to H5N1, indicating that they were infected with the virus or had been infected in the past.
The above comments on H5N1 in dogs and cats are not a surprise. H5N1 has been isolated from fatal infections of leopards and tigers in Thai zoos. H5N1 has also been isolated from a domestic cat and has been experimentally transmitted in laboratory cats.
Similarly, although an earlier report of H5N1 detected in a dog in Thailand was denied, later media reports indicated the original report was accurate and the denial was part of a cover-up.
In Croatia dogs were being destroyed and media reports included pictures of dead dogs and cats. Other unconfirmed reports indicate dead hyenas litter the roadside in Nigeria.
H3N8 has been found in racing and companion dogs in the United States providing additional evidence for expanding hosts ranges for influenza.
The large number of wild birds infected with H5N1 may provide a mechanism for infection of a wide range of carnivores. The number of countries reporting dead swans has increased dramatically in the past several days, and reports of H5N1 in the East Atlantic Flyway suggests the global spread of H5N1 will continue.
The expanded geographical reach and host range of H5N1 is cause for concern. The spread of H5N1 allows for more dual infections, recombinations, and new sequences causing new problems. Moreover, these new sequences can increase the affinity for human receptors, such as S227N, and can be generated in avian hosts infected with H5N1 and H9N2 as predicted previously.
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