It seems that vets can get results.
Bird flu test available for all Austrian cats, for a small fee
Fri Mar 10, 1:56 PM ET
VIENNA (AFP) - Austrian cat owners can now allay their fears about bird
flu and have their pets tested for the disease, after several cats in
Germany and Austria were found carrying the H5N1 virus.
The test consists of a quick swab of the cat's throat, which can be
done by any veterinarian doctor for a fee, and results come back in a
matter of days.
This initiative, launched by the Austrian Federal Chamber of
Veterinarians and the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), is the
first of its kind and comes after Germany recently announced several
cases of the potentially deadly H5N1 virus in cats.
Earlier this week, Austrian authorities also said three cats in the
south of the country had carried the virus but had since rejected it.
"Cat owners came to vets in huge numbers and wanted to put their cats
to sleep, for no reason," spokesman for the Chamber of Veterinarians,
Johannes Weiss, told AFP Friday.
He said he had received many calls from worried cat owners and so the
initiative was as much "a reassurance for the population as a
necessity."
"The method is not new, but that it is offered on such a scale" is a first, AGES spokesman Oskar Wawschinek told AFP.
A sample is taken by a veterinarian and sent to the AGES lab on the
outskirts of Vienna where it is tested using a polymerase chain
reaction which then helps determine if the cat carries the virus.
The whole process takes about a week, taking into account transfer of
the sample to and from the lab and the time needed to do the analysis.
But each test costs between 100 and 120 euros (120 and 142 dollars) and
so many cat owners might think twice before having their cats tested,
Wawschinek said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060310/hl_afp/healthfluaustria _060310185658