AVMA A public health investigation documented the transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI, more specifically avian influenza type A H5N1) from a domestic cat to a human, but health officials maintain that the risk remains low.
Last spring, investigators with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) interviewed individuals who had been exposed to HPAI-infected pet cats that consumed raw animal products. The people were also invited to receive serologic testing, and among the 25 who volunteered, one asymptomatic veterinary professional had serologic evidence of HPAI infection. The results of the study, “Serologic Evidence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Infection in a Veterinary Professional Exposed to an Infected Domestic Cat—Los Angeles County, California, December 2024–January 2025,” were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on May 7.