As highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) continues to emerge as a serious threat to feline health, the Cornell Feline Health Center (CFHC) is leading a multidisciplinary effort to better understand the virus's impact on cats. A newly published article in the American Journal of Veterinary Research highlights the CFHC Feline H5N1 Surveillance Consortium, an initiative funded by the Center’s philanthropically funded rapid response grant program that brings together experts in virology, infectious disease, epidemiology, shelter medicine, veterinary public health, and feline health to address critical gaps in knowledge surrounding H5N1 infections in cats.

The article describes the consortium’s ongoing pilot surveillance program in New York State shelters and community spay-neuter clinics, which aims to identify active influenza infections, assess evidence of prior H5N1 exposure, and to functionally and genetically characterize influenza viruses circulating in feline populations. With reports linking H5N1 infections in cats to exposure to wild birds, livestock environments, raw milk, and raw meat diets—and mortality rates reaching as high as 70% in affected cats—the consortium seeks to generate data that will inform future monitoring, prevention, treatment, and public health preparedness efforts.

Read more about the CFHC Feline H5N1 Surveillance Consortium and view the AJVR article here to learn more about this important initiative and its role in advancing feline and public health.