SKorea cat had bird flu: officials

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

SEOUL (AFP) — A cat found dead in a South Korean city was infected with a virulent strain of bird flu, the first mammal in the country known to have had the H5N1 virus, health officials said on Tuesday.

They said it was the first report of a cat having had the virus since a case in Thailand in 1996, but that there was little risk to humans as there has never been a known transmission of the virus from a cat to other mammals.

"It is quite rare for a cat to be infected by the avian flu virus," said Cho Hyun-Ho, a deputy director of the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service.

Cats and dogs are usually not susceptible to the virus, so quarantine officials only normally check animals that have regular contact with birds.

The cat was found...