Bird flu has Utah officials reminding pet owners to cook raw meat
Jan 2, 2025, 6:00 PM
A microbiologist tests poultry samples collected from a farm located in a control area for the presence of avian influenza, or bird flu, at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory on March 24, 2022 in Madison, Wisconsin. After avian flu was found in a domestic cat in Oregon, officials are reminding pet owners to offer pets cooked and not raw food. (Scott Olson, Getty Images)
(Scott Olson, Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY — After a housecat died in Oregon, and a recent pet food recall, Utah agriculture officials are reminding pet owners to cook the food they make for their animals to avoid bird flu.
In particular, pet owners should not offer raw poultry to their animals, said Bailee Woolstenhume with the Utah Department of Agriculture.
“This pet contracted the avian flu through a raw [cat] food source that had ground meat in it,” Woolstenhume said.
According to the Associated Press, the Oregon cat became sick after eating frozen cat food with raw turkey. Officials connected the cat’s illness with the raw food when the same virus was found in both.
“Animals tend to be more susceptible to these diseases than humans,” she said. “We’re not as worried about it with humans, but it was surprising to see a cat contract it through a food source.”
Right now, avian influenza, or H5 bird flu, is “widespread in wild birds worldwide” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC adds that H5 bird flu continues to cause outbreaks in poultry and dairy cows in the United States.
In October, several Utah dairy facilities in Cache County were quarantined after avian flu was detected.
But Woolstenhume said the cattle herds in Cache County, as well as in Davis and Weber counties, are out of quarantine now. No new reports of bird flu have been reported there in recent weeks.
