Governments should consider vaccinating poultry against bird flu, which has killed hundreds of millions of birds and infected mammals worldwide, to prevent the virus from turning into a new pandemic, the head of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said.

Two domestic cats in Oregon died in December 2022 from highly pathogenic avian influenza, the bird flu that began spreading rapidly in 2020. 

Pathologists say they’ve detected cases of the virus, commonly known as the bird flu, in three cats in Nebraska.

Nine infected cats were found in Poznań, the tri-city metropolitan area, and Lublin, locations separated by hundreds of kilometers. All tested positvie for HPAI.