<http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1590240/posts>

Germans panic and dump their cats...

Sunday, 5-Mar-2006

According to an animal welfare society in Germany, hundreds of cats are
being left at animal shelters following the disclosure earlier in the
week that a cat on the island of Ruegen had died from the deadly bird
flu. The charity says they are examining the abandoned cats for any
sign of illness including bird flu.

German veterinary authorities confirmed last week that a dead cat found
on the Baltic island of Ruegen had been infected with the highly
pathogenic strain of H5N1 bird flu that can prove fatal to humans.

Back in 2004 the disease was responsible for the deaths of both
domestic and wild cats, including dozens of tigers; however the cat
found on the island was the first case of an infected mammal in the
European Union.

It remains unclear however whether the EU's first feline case of bird
flu is added cause for concern and that people could contract the virus
from cats...

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