No new human cases of avian influenza have been reported, and poultry infections are low so far in March. But infections in cats are continuing, and new research is raising concerns about the virus. Human cases: No new cases reported. There have been 70 confirmed and seven probable cases since 2024. Poultry cases: February saw 12.7 million domestic birds either infected with avian influenza or culled in response to an infection. The number is just more than half of January’s tally. To date, March has seen 220,000 birds die.
Dairy cattle cases: California has reported six new herds of dairy cattle infected with avian influenza this month, bringing the national total to 983 herds infected since the current outbreak began.
Infections in Cats
Bird flu infections in domestic cats remain concerning, and there have been a few relevant new developments on the issue. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service—the office that is monitoring the avian influenza outbreak in domestic and wild animals—has not announced any new detections of bird flu in mammals since March began. Several local officials have recently announced new cases in pet cats, however. The reports include two cats in Kansas without specified potential exposure routes, outdoor cats in New Jersey, cats that drank raw milk in Los Angeles and cats that ate raw food in Washington State and Oregon.