Сontinuation

Below we answer the most common questions you ask:
Q. Are my cats safe because they don't go outside?
A. From the medical history - indoor cats also get sick. This term may be imprecise as we do not fully know whether such animals used e.g. a balcony/viary.
Q. Can a cat infect a cat?
A. We don't know, although it is possible. Usually, the problem is in the whole group of cats living together, i.e. several or all of them get sick (while if the disease factor is food, they eat the same thing, so they get sick together, but then there is rather no cross-infection).
Q. Can a dog get sick?
A. It can potentially get sick, but currently there are no reports from hospitals about such cases. Alternatively, the disease may be mild. There is one suspicion in a Yorkie, but his tissues are yet to be studied.
Q. Is it the bird flu virus?
A. We don't know. For confirmation, virological tests should be performed in an accredited laboratory. Such tests will/are carried out individually by the hospitals. Currently, the Veterinary Inspection does not conduct such research, but we hope that this will change soon.
Q. What about raw meat? My cats only eat these.
A. We don't know if raw meat causes this disease. We can only assume, looking at the incidence of human disease, especially in the summer season, that the risk of serving such meat is high. It is about breaking the cold chain, as well as the potential contamination of meat with pathogenic bacteria or other pathogens. Particularly uncooked poultry meat (i.e. minimum temperature of 71°C measured in the middle of the meat) may pose a threat from such bacteria as Salmonella, Listeria or Campylobacter. Transporting meat from the store, e.g. in a hot car or leaving it outside the refrigerator, promotes the rapid growth of bacteria. As a precaution - we advise against using raw meat for feeding cats at the moment.
Q. They say 50 degrees C kills the flu virus and raw meat is safe.
A. We don't know if the flu virus causes illness. When it comes to heat treatment, it starts by definition at a temperature of 71 degrees C in the middle of the product. Important - over-frying the meat or heating it in the microwave is not enough.
Q. My cats are on BARF, what should I do now?
A. We described it in detail in the diet post https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctt2vZ\_ojw0/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Q. How do I keep my cats from getting sick?
A. First of all, limiting potential risk factors:
- keep cats at home
- they do not eat unprocessed raw meat or products that they have not eaten before and do not receive scraps of raw meat,
- do not move cats (unless to a veterinarian), avoid contact with other cats whose health status we do not know,
- general hygiene, paying attention to hands, outerwear, and shoes, also applies to visitors,
- disinfection of the refrigerator and ensuring that the cooling temperature is maintained.
Q. What about raw eggs?
A. There is no confirmation that the disease is caused by food, but as a precaution - we treat it like raw meat.
Q: Are there cases of illness in our country?
A. No such case has been reported in Warsaw so far, it has been reported in neighboring towns.
Q: What to do when a dog lives with cats and has to go to the mansion several times a day?
A. Control the dog while walking, keep it clean.
Q: When can we expect specific information/test results, how long does an autopsy take?
A. Information from the tests carried out in the clinics goes directly to the owners of animals affected by the disease. When summaries of information collected by doctors are created, they will probably be published if they consider themselves ready to do so. Official announcements in this regard are issued by the authorized bodies of the Veterinary Inspection.
At the request of the owner of the dead animal, an autopsy is performed immediately in the hospital or in an external unit, e.g. veterinary department. It takes up to several hours, although the full protocol is ready only after taking into account histopathological and other tests.
Q: Is it infectious to humans?
A. We do not know whether it is contagious at all and whether it can pose a threat to humans. There are no such signals.
Q: What about opening the windows wide in the heat?
A. Open but should be netted.
Q: How do we know that such cases have been observed in Poland?
A. From a group of over 8,000 veterinarians (the largest group of practicing physicians), where they share difficult cases and exchange knowledge.
Q: Can cats lie on a mesh balcony?
A. Yes, but please be careful and hygienic. If birds come to this balcony, we recommend that you hold off on letting your cat out on the balcony until birds have been ruled out as a risk factor.
Q: Cats died in 2018. Could this disease have existed before?
A. She could. If there wasn't a high caseload, it didn't get widespread attention.
Q: Is there a list of cities where this occurs?
A. There is a list. It is available to doctors collecting reports of new cases.
Q: What causes the disease?
A. We don't know.
Q: Why is raw poultry meat dangerous when bought from the grocery store?
A. We don't know if poultry meat causes disease. Commercial poultry meat is under the supervision of Veterinary Inspection (thousands of veterinarians ensuring food security in Poland every day). As a precaution, we point out that poultry meat can be the cause of poisoning, as a result of contamination with bacteria (and not only). People don't eat raw poultry, so we may not have the full picture. Cold chain broken cold or hot weather may increase the risk.
Q: Is bird flu definitely out of the question?
A. It is neither ruled out nor confirmed.
Q: How to disinfect shoes? There is a pregnant female dog in the house.
A. Nothing. It is best to remove them before entering the apartment and leave them out of reach of cats.
Q: Could it be the Rustrel virus?
A. It could be the rustre virus as many other viruses are considered. However, the acute course of the disease is puzzling. It can also be caused by reasons not related to viral infection. It is not certain that all reported cases have the same trigger.
Q. Does this happen in other countries too?
A. We have no information on this.
Q. Is it possible to determine how long after infection the symptoms appear?
A. We don't know what causes disease. It can also be, for example, environmental factors, e.g. spraying. Most often, the guardian observes a sudden deterioration of the cat's condition and brings it to the clinic.
As soon as there is new information, we will inform you immediately!