India, Feb. 27 -- First cases of avian influenza virus in domestic cats have been detected in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara, but senior officials clarified on Thursday that their owners reportedly remain unaffected.

The owners of three to four cats that tested positive for H5NI in Madhya Pradesh have not been afflicted with the ailment, news agency PTI quoted a senior official as saying on Thursday.

Nevertheless, mutation of the H5N1 virus from birds to mammals has raised concerns that it could come to affect humans as well.

"The blood, nasal and anal swabs of three to four cats sent from Chhindwara to the ICAR-National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal in January have returned positive for H5NI. However, their owners ...