- May 11, 2013
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It's pretty bad. Apparently the virus affecting the west coast is a strain of H5N1, which can be deadly to humans (although it's highly dependent on the strain of the virus, which there are dozens), but it's almost always fatal in infected animals. H5N1 has also mutated to infect seals, dogs, cats and ferrets, so if you have a house pet, DO NOT LET IT OUTDOORS or touch noses with ANY animal outside of your home!
Sorry, not trying to be alarmist, it's just in my line of work when an outbreak like this happens there's nothing we can do. We can't allow an infected animal to risk spreading the virus to other pets that come into the clinic, and antiviral drugs are largely ineffective.
I feel really bad for the ducks and geese that migrate here to WA and Vancouver. :/
Sorry, not trying to be alarmist, it's just in my line of work when an outbreak like this happens there's nothing we can do. We can't allow an infected animal to risk spreading the virus to other pets that come into the clinic, and antiviral drugs are largely ineffective.
I feel really bad for the ducks and geese that migrate here to WA and Vancouver. :/
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that's very scary I have outside dogs,outside cats & an inside ferret & a flock of 12.
