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

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

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

The shelter has been quarantined and closed to the public to prevent the spread of the virus, the statement said.

The animals died between late November and mid-December, reserve director Mark Mathews told reporters. new york times.

“We’ve never had anything like this; they usually die of old age basically,” he said. “No, this is a very evil virus.”

The news comes as bird flu continues to spread among cattle and poultry in the United States, seriously infecting at least one person.

The sanctuary says it has lost five African servals, four lynxes, two Canada lynxes and a Bengal tiger, among others. Now there are only 17 cats left at the center.

“Cats are particularly susceptible to this virus, which may initially cause mild symptoms but progress rapidly, often leading to death from a pneumonia-like condition within 24 hours,” the sanctuary said in its statement. Facebook statement on Friday.

Avian influenza has long infected poultry flocks in the United States. But the virus first began infecting cattle in the United States in March.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 61 human cases of avian influenza have been reported in the United States since April 2024.

The risk to the public remains low and there is no sustained human-to-human transmission, the CDC said.

Most people report mild symptoms, although one person in Louisiana was hospitalized this month with a severe case of bird flu.

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