CBS News – Bird flu has been detected in rats for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed Wednesday.
Four black rats were confirmed to have H5N1 avian flu in late January in Riverside County, California, where two recent poultry outbreaks were reported, the agency said.
The agency’s latest update also included other infected mammals in locations around the country, including a harbor seal in Massachusetts, a fox in North Dakota, a bobcat in Washington state and a domestic cat in Oregon.
Officials said the cat infection is likely related to a recent report of two pets from Multnomah County that were sickened after eating raw pet food contaminated with the virus.
The latest bird flu discoveries come as the USDA is trying to rehire bird flu experts that the agency recently fired as part of cost-cutting based on recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE …
