오석민
| 2023-08-02 10:36:48
avian influenza-cat
S. Korea detects avian influenza virus in cat food
SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's agriculture ministry said Wednesday it has detected an H5 avian influenza (AI) strain in cat food, and ordered its manufacturer to recall and destroy the affected products.
Last month, a cat living at a shelter in Seoul's Gwanak district died after showing respiratory symptoms, and it was found Monday to have been infected with a highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Follow-up tests on the facility showed that the H5 virus was detected in cat food used there, and its manufacturer, Nature's Raw, in the city of Gimpo, west of Seoul, had failed to abide by due sterilization procedures, the ministry said.
Whether the virus from the cat food is highly pathogenic will be determined in about two days.
"The company had not fully followed necessary sterilization steps over the course of manufacturing products since May 25. The government ordered the company to stop producing and selling the items, and to recall and destroy them," the ministry said in a release.
In the wake of the case, the ministry decided to launch an inspection into all manufacturers of animal food using chicken, duck and other meats.
Concerns have grown over the spread of avian influenza among cats and other animals, as the country reported AI cases in two cats at a shelter in Seoul's Yongsan Ward last week, marking the first infections of the virus in mammals since 2016.
People who have had contact with the cats in the Gwanak and Yongsan shelters have not shown any symptoms, and there has not been a human AI infection through cats or other mammals.
But the health authorities are closely monitoring them, as the incubation period for human AI cases is known to be 10 days.
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