The news just got out that 2 cats at a poultry farm got infected with HPAI in Belgium. This is the first case of HPAI in cats in Belgium. The animals most likely got infected through contact with infected birds as the farm was found to be positive for HPAI on 18 February.
This highlights the risk that animal diseases can spread from one animal species to another and emphasizes the need to keep pets (cats/dogs) out of the animal facilities at all times. Moreover, pets should never have access to carcasses from wild or domestic animals as the meat can be infected with all types of pathogens.
This, amongst many other biosecurity measures, is evaluated in our Biocheck.UGent tool.
Read the press release here.