Expert warns against feeding raw meat to furry friends
Cats and dogs could be infected by eating rats
A bird flu expert has warned pet owners not to let their animals eat rats and birds, despite their natural instinct as hunters.
'Pet owners have to be very alert that they should not feed their cats raw meat,' the chair professor of microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, Yuen Kwok-yung, said yesterday.
'In villages, some people might still allow their cats to eat dead birds and this is dangerous. Some research has shown that cats can carry the bird flu virus and could pass it to humans.'
Professor Yuen's warning came one day after the government confirmed that a dead grey heron found at Lok Ma Chau on Monday has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus.
Outbreaks of bird flu have killed at least 32 people in Vietnam and Thailand this year. In Hong Kong, an outbreak infected 18 people in 1997, killing six.
'Cats are mammals and they are even closer to humans than birds and pigs,' Professor Yuen said.
Although rats had not been found with the bird flu virus, it was still unwise to allow cats to eat them.
'Rats carry lots of bacteria and parasites and cats could become infected after eating rats. The message is that cats should no longer be used as rat hunters. They could be used to scare away rats, but not allowed to eat them,' he said.
Dutch research released in September found that cats can contract the bird flu virus, meaning that pets are at risk of spreading the disease.
Last month a Thai tiger zoo was shut down after bird flu killed scores of the big cats. Thai health authorities believe the tigers probably contracted bird flu after being fed raw chickens.
The World Health Organisation and health experts have warned that bird flu could cause a global pandemic such as the 1918 flu that killed about 20 million people.
