Actually, this is worldwide. H1N1 is the predominant strain circulating this year. This area of PA is seeing a spike in cases, but it's everywhere.
There was another recorded case in North America of the H1N1 transmitting, or being spread from, a human to a cat. Any idea where the first case of human to cat transmission of H1N1 virus occurred? Apparently two of three family pet cats died so an autopsy was done on the second ... turned out to be human transmitted H1N1 to a cat ... and the cats dropped dead.
H1N1 is swine flu, and H5N1 is bird flu. The cats died likely died of human transmitted H1N1, although a direct link has not been made.
"The flu strain has been reported sporadically in cats, ferrets and dogs in other countries, but this is the first time a case has been confirmed in a feline in Canada. ... If the cat got sick after the Christmas break, with people in and out, we assumed that it probably was a human-to-cat transmission. ... The strain of H1N1 in cats was first reported in 2009 when the outbreak initially occurred.
Although there’s a vaccine against H1N1 in swine, there’s no similar inoculation for domestic animals such as cats and dogs."
http://m.torontosun.com/2014/02/07/...-diagnose-first-case-of-feline-h1n1-in-canada
It sounds like there could be transmission of the virus between humans and cats, and potentially dogs, pigs, and ferrets, but there is only a vaccine for humans and pigs. If cats, dogs and ferrets are susceptible to transmission of the virus from humans, couldn't the virus mutate and adapt to a new host, like animal to human? What role do the cats in 2009 play in this?