Bird flu on an Illinois farm spread to a cat and wild rats, Illinois researchers find
"The cat was expected, but the rat is the surprise," a veterinary researcher said.
URBANA - A highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak that nearly wiped out a backyard flock on an Illinois farm also spread to a domestic cat and wild rats there, according to an analysis by University of Illinois researchers announced Oct. 6.
The farmer lost 100 of 105 backyard birds in March 2025, the university said. When the laboratory tested the remains of a cat and rats from the farm, all 12 tissue samples from the cat were infected, as were 11 of 15 samples from the rats.
"The cat was expected, but the rat is the surprise," said Dr. Leyi Wang, the virology section head at the U. of I. Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and corresponding author of the report.
Source: University of Illinois News Bureau, Oct. 6, 2026.