Twenty big cats – including a Bengal tiger and four cougars – have died from bird flu over the past several weeks at an animal sanctuary in Washington state.

“This tragedy has deeply affected our team and we are all grieving the loss of these incredible animals,” the Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington wrote in a post on Facebook.

The devastating viral infection, carried by wild birds, is spread primarily through respiratory secretions and bird-to-bird contact and can also be contracted by mammals that ingest birds or other products.

The statement said the sanctuary is in quarantine and closed to the public to prevent the spread of the virus.

Sanctuary director Mark Matthews said the animals died between late November and mid-December. new York Times,

He said, “We’ve never had anything like it; they usually die of old age.” “Nothing like that, it’s a very evil virus.”

The news comes as bird flu continues to spread among cattle and poultry in the US, as well as seriously infecting at least one human.

The sanctuary said it had lost five African serval cats, four bobcats, two Canada lynx and a Bengal tiger, among others. Now only 17 cats remain in the centre.

“Cats are particularly vulnerable to this virus, which can cause subtle initial symptoms but progresses rapidly, often resulting in death within 24 hours due to pneumonia-like conditions,” the sanctuary said in its statement. ” Facebook statement On Friday.

Bird flu has long infected poultry flocks in the US. But the virus first started infecting cattle in the US in March.

And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 61 human cases of bird flu have been reported in the US since April 2024.

The CDC says the risk to the general public is low, and there has been no sustained human-to-human transmission.

Most have reported mild symptoms, although one person was taken to the hospital with a severe case of bird flu in Louisiana this month.

Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency over the outbreak among the state’s dairy cows to help give the government “the resources and flexibility needed to quickly respond to this outbreak.”