Here kitty, kitty, kitty...

Embassy: Indonesia Cat May Spread Bird Flu

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The U.S. Embassy in Indonesia is advising Americans to avoid contact with stray cats in the country, citing confirmed reports of the animals carrying the deadly bird flu virus.

In a posting on its Web site Wednesday, the embassy addressed the risk from the H5N1 virus in Indonesia, where that strain of bird flu is endemic in chickens and has killed more humans than in other nation.

"There have been confirmed reports that wild and stray cats have been shown to carry H5N1," the embassy said. "While there have been no documented cases of feline-to-human transmission of H5N1, it is important to avoid contact with wild and stray cats."

The World Heath Organization had no immediate comment.

Last year, South Korea slaughtered wild cats as part of its efforts to prevent the spread of bird flu in poultry. U.N. food and agriculture officials criticized the move as not based on science.

The embassy said that cats that "reside mainly inside a residence" were not seen to be at risk of catching H5N1. The virus has killed 163 people around the world, around one-third of them in Indonesia.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.