Swine Flu in a Cat and Other Matters

Helen Branswell, the Canadian Press's extraordinary flu reporter, is one of the few reporters who could have written the article, "Flu dogma being rewritten by a strange virus no one pegged to trigger a pandemic". She's been following flu for years and has watched as one thing after another we thought we knew about flu has been shown wrong -- by the flu virus. It's a theme we have been sounding as well for almost as long. As scientists we've seen one alleged flu truism after another was stood on its head. A couple of years ago we began to assume anything said about flu was provisional. Some of it might turn out to be true, and some of it might not. If you've been following this blog for a few years, most of Branswell's material will be familiar, but she has pulled it together in one place. So read it (once again: here). But one piece of now outmoded conventional flu wisdom not is in Branswell's article -- because it was only announced Wednesday -- is that our beloved household companion animals (aka, "pets") aren't susceptible to swine flu (example here, with breaking news update to correct it). This may still be flu dogma, but it's no longer flu catma.

From the Iowa Department of Public Health:

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) remind Iowans that in addition to protecting their families, friends and neighbors from the spread of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, it’s important to remember to protect family pets from the illness, as well. People who are sick with H1N1 can spread the virus not only to humans, but to some animals.
The Departments are sharing this message following the confirmation of a case of H1N1 in an Iowa cat. (IDPH)