The virus that causes the common cold in humans is species-specific, which means you can’t spread it to your dog or cat, nor can you get it from them, said Dr. Shelley Rankin, assistant professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
But influenza viruses can “jump” from one species to another, said Dr. Ed Dubovi, a virologist at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. “The regular flu virus does not pass back and forth” between cats, dogs and their owners, he said, at least as far as anybody knows.
The Asian bird flu, on the other hand, is different. The H5N1 “bird flu” virus is believed to have originated in wild birds and moved into domestic ducks and chickens in Asia.
In the process, mutations occurred that allowed the virus to “jump” from birds into humans living in close proximity with their chickens and ducks; so far, there has been only limited transmission from human to human.
There have been isolated reports of bird flu infecting cats, including exotic cats in an Asian zoo that were fed infected poultry, said Dubovi. “The cats came down with the flu and died.” There have also been sporadic reports in the scientific literature that dogs in Asia have also been infected.
So far, he said, there have been no reports of the bird flu being transmitted from dogs or cats to people. “These animals are not natural hosts for this virus, and since we haven’t detected this virus in North America, it’s not a concern.
“There are major efforts out there to monitor everything that walks, crawls or flies. Should there ever be a case in a domestic dog or cat in this country, it would be found fairly quickly,” he said. “There is virtually no reason to be concerned.”