BBC Home
Explore the BBC


Guides: Bird Flu

Last Updated: Wednesday March 01 2006 16:53 GMT

Can it affect other animals?

Bird flu can infect other animals, but, as with humans, there is not much risk of this happening.

Scientists have known for a while that cats can catch the bug, but they don't think we should be worried.

They say it's very unlikey the bug could spread from cat to cat, and it's even more unlikely that we could catch bird flu from cats.

So there's no reason to keep them indoors and owners certainly don't need to think about handing them over to vets or cat sanctuaries.

But if the bug were to infect a British poultry farm - which hasn't happened yet - then cat owners nearby should make sure their pets are kept clear of the birds

BBC Homepage >> | CBBC Homepage >>
