{"id":10699,"date":"2016-02-02T16:51:39","date_gmt":"2013-02-02T16:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.viamedic.com\/blog\/?p=872"},"modified":"2013-02-02T16:51:39","modified_gmt":"2013-02-02T16:51:39","slug":"pets-get-flu-more-often-than-thought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/pets-get-flu-more-often-than-thought\/","title":{"rendered":"Pets Get Flu More Often Than Thought"},"content":{"rendered":"

Turns out, pets actually get the flu regularly — and they can even get it from their owners! —\u00a0Click to Tweet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The flu virus is perhaps more infectious than we thought — and our pets are at risk too.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yes, it\u2019s true. And it has been confirmed by a recent study<\/a> of cat blood samples in Ohio. Researchers found that over 30 percent of the cats had been infected with seasonal flu, and an alarming 20 percent had been infected with the H1N1 strain infamous for causing a global pandemic.<\/p>\n

It turns out that researchers have known since the 70\u2019s that cats can get the flu, and since about the year 2000 that dogs can get the flu as well. But what doctors didn\u2019t know is how often it happens. Until recently, very few detailed reports had been made.<\/p>\n

The Unanswered Questions<\/strong>
\nThese few samples and the studies reported on them can only give us so much information. For one thing, there needs to be a broader collection from samples across the country, which could lead to much greater insight.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also completely impossible to know how sick these cats and dogs were: the blood samples just tell us they were sick at one point. In addition, it\u2019s not clear whether the cats and dogs usually caught the flu from other animals or their owners.<\/p>\n

\"Even<\/a>
Even if it’s spinning a broken record. it’s worth saying again. Flu shots are the best way to prevent infection.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mutational Virulence<\/strong>
\nAnother concern for epidemiologists is that cross-species transmission could encourage the virus to mutate in novel ways, increasing its danger to both people and pets.<\/p>\n

One important way to prevent this possible disaster is to get flu shots<\/a> when advised, which will prevent human-to-pet transmission. It\u2019s currently unknown whether a sick pet can infect a human, but research is trying to answer these questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turns out, pets actually get the flu regularly — and they can even get it from their owners! —\u00a0Click to Tweet. Yes, it\u2019s true. And it has been confirmed by a recent study of cat blood samples in Ohio. Researchers found that over 30 percent of the cats had been infected with seasonal flu, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-health-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t