Cases of H1N1 in cats and ferrets appear to have been transmitted from symptomatic human household members, according to a new analysis from the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Emilio E. DeBess, DVM, from the Oregon Department of Human Services, in Portland, presented the findings here at a poster session at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases 2010.

“We are reporting the first cluster of laboratory-confirmed cases of H1N1 in the US,” the authors note, “in 4 ferrets and 2 cats.”

According to Dr. DeBess, the cases represent the first description of the pathology and viral antigen distribution of lethal respiratory disease in domestic cats after natural pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus infection, which was probably transmitted from humans.

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