Thai Dog Has Bird Flu

It isn't suprising to me that we're seeing more mammalian infections, I suspect we'll soon be seeing an epidemic of cats and such dying in Southeast Asia, which will be the warning sign to all of us. For now though, it appears to be yet another isolated case:

"Thai scientists have reported a case of H5N1 influenza infection in a dog, adding to the long list of mammals that the avian flu virus can infect.

The report, which suggests the dog became infected by eating ducks killed by the virus, also underscores a need to figure out whether the virus can be transmitted through consumption of infected animals or their meat, a World Health Organization scientist said yesterday.

"This is the third species or fourth species that has been infected by eating carcasses. So I think we really have to think about the risk of oral ingestion," said Michael Perdue of the WHO's global influenza program.

"I mean, these guys are getting infected somehow and we don't know how."

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It appears only Canadian news sources are picking this up for some reason...