Going to the Dogs: More Pets Diagnosed With H1N1

For the second time in less than two weeks, animals have been diagnosed with the H1N1 virus in China.

In the latest case, two dogs tested positive for the flu strain in Beijing, Agence-France Presse reported.

The H1N1 virus detected in the two dogs is 99 percent identical to the one circulating in humans, according to China's agriculture ministry.

But health experts are telling pet owners not to panic; so far, the virus has only been passed from humans to pets and not vice versa.

"Only when the virus mutates within dogs will it be a new threat to humans," Feng Zijian, director of emergency response for the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention told China Daily.

Just 10 days ago, four pigs in China's Heilongjiang province were diagnosed with the virus, which specialists said might also have been caught from humans, according to the report.

In addition to the U.S. and China., Canada and Chile have also reported cases of animals being infected.

Earlier this month, a 13-year-old domestic shorthair cat in Iowa diagnosed with the flu. The cat was treated at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ames and has since recovered, officials said. The veterinarian who treated the cat said two of the three people in the cat’s Iowa home had flu-like symptoms before the cat became ill.

The virus has also been confirmed in two ferrets — one in Oregon and the other in Nebraska — as well as in pigs who were part of a commercial herd in Indiana.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.