Four alpacas at a farm in Idaho were found to be infected with the H5N1 strain of Highly Pathogenic , the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the USDA said Tuesday. Poultry infected with the bird flu were depopulated at the farm where the alpacas were infected earlier in May. The APHIS noted that the infections were not unexpected due to the previous detection of bird flu at the site, the high amount of virus in the environment, and the mix of multiple species at the farm, although it was the first time the virus was found in alpacas.
The virus the alpacas were infected with was the same strain that has among dairy cattle across the US in recent months. The H5N1 subvariant of bird flu has been increasingly reported in cattle in recent months, with 67 cases reported in nine states since March 25. Additionally, on Tuesday, two dead cats were found to be infected with H5N1 in Curry County in New Mexico, according to data from the World Organisation of Animal Health.
While dairy farms in the country have been affected by the bird flu, the location of the cats wasn't directly associated with a known outbreak on a dairy or poultry farm. Last week, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that it had found viral particles in tissue samples, including from diaphragm muscle from one cow. Tissue samples from 95 other cows tested negative for the virus.
A study published last week in the last week found H5N1 in samples of milk from affected herds .
