Bird flu found in U.S. rats for the first time as cases keep rising – National
Bird flu has been detected in rats for the first time in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Four black rats in Riverside County, Calif., located east of Los Angeles, tested positive for the H5N1 virus. The USDA confirmed Wednesday that this is the first known case of bird flu in this species.
Health officials found the four rats over three days, from Jan. 29 through Jan. 31.
The virus has already been confirmed in other rodents such as mice and squirrels.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the current risk of bird flu to the U.S. public remains low.
In Canada, the public risk also remains low. But this week the Public Health Agency of Canada announced it purchased 500,000 doses of a bird flu vaccine for humans.
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The vaccines were ordered as a “proactive measure” in case the doses are needed, PHAC stated.
In Canada, bird flu has been sporadically detected in mammals such as raccoons, striped skunks, red foxes, cats and dogs. However, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has reported no cases of avian flu in rats.
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