Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Twenty big cats – including Bengal tigers and four cougars – have died of bird flu in the past few weeks at a zoo in Washington.
“This tragedy has deeply affected our community, and we are all saddened by the loss of these amazing animals,” the Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington wrote on Facebook.
Infectious diseases, which are carried by wild birds, are spread mainly through breathing and bird-to-bird contact and can also be contracted by animals that eat birds or other things.
The sanctuary is isolated and closed to the public to prevent the spread of the virus, he said.
The animals died in late November to mid-December, sanctuary director Mark Mathews told reporters New York Times.
“We’ve never had anything like that; they usually die of old age,” he said. “Not something like this, it’s a really bad virus.”
The news comes as bird flu is spreading among cattle and chickens in the US, and has become highly contagious in one person.
The sanctuary said it lost five African cats, four bobcats, two Canada lynx and a Bengal tiger, among others. Only 17 cats remain at the Center.
“Cats are particularly vulnerable to the virus, which can cause mild symptoms but progresses rapidly, resulting in death within 24 hours of pneumonia,” the sanctuary said. The words of Facebook on Friday.
Bird flu has long overtaken chickens in the US. But the virus first infected cattle in the US in March.
And as of April 2024, there have been 61 cases of bird flu in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC says the risk to the general public remains low, and there has been no human-to-human transmission.
Many have reported illness, although one person was taken to the hospital with a severe case of bird flu in Louisiana this month.
Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency due to the outbreak in the state’s dairy herds to help the state have the “resources and flexibility needed to deal with this outbreak”.
