Iceland confirms Influenza A(H5N5) Virus in dead cat

Iceland's Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) announced early January 2025 that highly pathogenic Influenza A(H5N5) Virus has been found during the autopsy of a kitten that had died.

Officials said the 10-week-old kitten died on December 22, 2024, shortly after two cats from the same litter died but were not tested. Other littermates had left the home before the other cats were sick and remain asymptomatic.

The kittens are from Ísafjörður in the Westfjords region of northwest Iceland, but the one diagnosed as having Influenza A(H5N5) Virus had arrived in Reykjavík, the country's capital.

MAST said the same Influenza A(H5N5) Virus strain had been detected in Iceland's wild birds in September 2024 and in poultry in December 2024. It added that the cats likely contracted the virus from wild birds.

A separate report to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said the kittens' main clinical signs were lethargy, loss of appetite, cramps, and stiffness.

Influenza A(H5N5) Virus expands its geographic range, including Greenland
The most recent quarterly overview of avian Influenza from the European Centres for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Agency (ESFA) said Influenza A(H5N5) viruses continue to expand their geographic and species range, with spillovers to domestic birds reported in Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

In a new related development, animal health officials in Greenland reported highly pathogenic Influenza A(H5N5) Virus in a northern fulmar, a sea bird, found dead in October in the northwest, according to notification on January 9, 2025 from WOAH.