The research findings were announced at a news conference on Wednesday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
It came after reports of an increase in deadly infections with the H5N1 avian flu variant among cats in Poland, according to officials.
‘No evidence of link between poultry and H5N1’
Krzysztof Pyrć, a virologist from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, said in a statement that there was “no evidence” that the H5N1 avian flu infections had been caused “by infected Polish poultry meat.”
Pyrć’s government-appointed team analysed poultry-based cat food given to infected animals, the IAR news agency reported.
The scientist said: “The virus was found in one of the five analysed food samples. However, this does not mean that poultry was the source of the infection.”
Pyrć added: “But this does indicate that the relevant agencies should undertake a thorough study to ensure not only the safety of animals and people in Poland, but also the safety of the poultry industry.”
22 infections
Meanwhile, Stanisław Winiarczyk, who heads Poland’s State Veterinary Institute in the eastern city of Puławy, said the agency had so far received “43 cat samples, of which 22 have tested positive for the H5N1 virus.”
Winiarczyk told reporters in Warsaw: “So far, we haven’t established any threat to the health of the people who have come into contact with these animals. And so there’s no reason to panic, but there’s reason to take preventive measures."
He added: "The Chief Sanitary Inspectorate has already taken certain steps, such as putting the owners and other people who have come into contact with these animals under epidemic supervision.”
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP
