Pets, livestock, and wildlife can all catch coronaviruses-does it make them dangerous?

SARS-CoV-2 is almost certainly of animal origin. However, since the virus infects humans, outbreaks have been caused by efficient human-to-human transmission, causing the current pandemic. The role of animals in the spread of the virus is negligible.

But does this mean that we can ignore it? animal What about COVID? Absolutely not. Many people own or touch animals. Therefore, it is right to ask if pets, livestock, and wildlife pose a risk of infection.

Furthermore, from Public health perspective It is important to know if it is specific Animal species Can function as reservoir for Virus.. If the virus can reproduce and survive independently in other species, it may later re-enter humans.

In February, Hong Kong dog It was the first animal reported to be positive for SARS-CoV-2. In most cases, the animals were infected by their owners, who were also diagnosed with COVID. Then some reports Virus positive dogs and cats Published in Asia, Europe and America.

of Dog and cat sensitivity It has since been confirmed in animal experiments. Furthermore, the observation of Infected lion and tiger New York zoos show common susceptibility to cat species infections. in addition, Hamster, ferret And Some species of monkey Experimental studies have shown that they are susceptible, but infections Pig, chicken, duck failed.

Most of the reported cat and dog cases are associated with human COVID-19 patients and are likely to have infected humans. However, these animals also need the ability to infect the virus, as it poses a risk and acts as a reservoir for the virus. Some animals seem to be able to do this.

Subsequent ability Infection; infection Experimentally proven ferret And Cat.. in addition, Farmed mink It has been found to be infected in the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain and the United States.

of minkGiven the evolutionary relationship with ferrets, the sensitivity of was natural. However, farm observations have shown that mink-to-mink transmission is very efficient, and it is also a potential spreader of the virus. Furthermore, from minkInfecting people Found on two farms Show their potential Being a public health risk.

Two host reservoirs may develop

Nevertheless, from these observations, it is not certain that cats and minks will be animal reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2.

Cats usually live in a household as one cat or in small numbers. The ability to act as a reservoir depends not only on the ability of households to infect each other, but also on their ability to infect cats in other households. .. This is still unknown.

However, cats are closely related to humans, so these two species may together form a reservoir. British Islet bovine tuberculosis is an example of two species working together to keep the pathogen circulating. Here, infection between cattle or badgers alone does not appear to be efficient enough for either species to maintain the pathogen. But together they allow the disease-causing bacteria to pass well between them, Effective reservoir..

A similar phenomenon may have occurred in Dutch minks and coronaviruses. All mink farms have been quarantined for several months and minks have not been moved between farms, but new infections are still occurring. This seems to refer to a chain of infections where humans are infected with minks and minks are infected with human staff, who move to another mink farm and the process is repeated. The infection between minks should be eradicated by a quarantine that blocks newly infected humans from visiting the farm, but if the virus is moving between animals and staff, this is why I’ll potentially explain.

How about wild animals?

Little is known about SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife. We Horseshoe bat Is the indigenous host of the virus and we know it Fruit bats can be ly infected.. However, there are many different species of bats and it is unclear how they serve as viral reservoirs.

Based on observations of domestic cats seed Minks can also be susceptible to wild cats and weasels (a family of animals that include minks, ferrets, and weasels). However, it’s unclear if they can create a reservoir, but their lonely lifestyle can make it less likely. In order to persist, you need to be infected with a virus.

Although the role of animals in pandemics is negligible at this time, the information available so far indicates that animals are at risk of a more prominent role in reducing low levels of human-to-human transmission. I am. Some animals may return the virus to humans in the future if they are still carrying the virus.

However, work is underway to minimize the risks posed by animals. For example, infected farm animals have been disposed of to prevent minks from becoming reservoirs. In addition, studies are underway to estimate the prevalence of cats and wildlife.

Dutch Health Center Studying now Potential role of cats in the spread of COVID. A mathematical model for establishing the proportion of infected cats owned by human patients, quantifying the direct and indirect transmission of the virus between cats, and examining the cat’s potential contribution to persistent viral infections in humans. Is developing.

The results of such studies will help design interventions to prevent the spread of the virus in cats, if necessary.

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