Sneeze into your arm, unless you’re holding your cat. Swine flu is spreading to pets. The U.S. has reported a few cases where humans with H1N1 have passed the virus on to their pets.
“The pets appear to have become ill after being in close contact with their owners or caretakers who were sick with H1N1,” says Dick Hesse, a flu expert in Kansas State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Nasal or oral swabs sent by veterinarians to laboratories have confirmed H1N1 virus in animals. Although dogs have not yet been affected, there are cases of the virus spreading from humans to cats and ferrets.
