April 6, 200620 yr Although H5N1 avian flu has caused many people to look at migrating birds and domestic poultry in a new, menacing light, it may be time to reappraise the bewhiskered feline serenely licking her paws on your couch. Danish and Italian researchers are calling on the world's health organizations and experts to start taking notice of cats. And they're urging officials to consider these domestic animals as both potential threats to human safety and as possible sentinels for the arrival of the disease. "We believe that the potential role of cats should be considered in official guidelines for controlling the spread of H5N1 virus infection," wrote the authors in a commentary in today's issue of the journal Nature. Read more of this story at : http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=413563
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