Studies suggest cats can get coronavirus, but pet owners don’t have to panic

According to Chinese researchers, cats can become infected with coronaviruses that cause COVID-19 and spread to other cats, but dogs are not. A team at the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute in China has also concluded that chickens, pigs, and ducks are unlikely to catch the virus.

Scientists say the finding is interesting, but cat owners should not be worried yet. The results are based on laboratory experiments in which a small number of animals were intentionally infected with a high dose of the virus SARS-CoV-2 and did not represent the actual interaction between humans and pets, and virologist Linda said. -Saif says. Ohio State University in Columbus. She says there is no direct evidence that infected cats secreted enough coronavirus to infect people.

Pet patrol

With the rapid spread of the coronavirus worldwide, some have expressed concern about whether the virus can pass between pets and humans. So far, there have been reports of pets being infected. A cat in Belgium and two dogs in Hong Kong. “Because cats and dogs are in close contact with humans, it is important to understand the susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 for COVID-19 control,” said the latest published in bioRxiv on March 31. Write to the author of the study (published on bioRxiv).

A team led by virologist Bu Zhigao infected five domestic cats with SARS-CoV-2 through their nose. When two cats were euthanized six days later, researchers found viral RNA and infectious viral particles in the upper respiratory tract.

The other three infected cats were placed in cages next to three uninfected cats. The team subsequently detected viral RNA in one of the uninfected cats. This suggests that the infected cat was infected with the virus via respiratory droplets. All four cats also produced antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. The authors point out in the preprint that surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in cats should be considered as part of an effort to eliminate human COVID-19, but this has been peer-reviewed. Absent.

No symptoms

However, Saif says that none of the infected cats showed symptoms of the disease, and only one out of three cats exposed to the infected animals caught the virus. “This suggests that the virus may not transmit much to cats,” she says. In addition, the mode of infection was not described because the study did not describe how the cages were placed and that uninfected cats may have been infected with the virus from contaminated feces and urine. Unknown.

She says more tests are needed if the cat is infected with different doses of the virus, including to see if the cat can be infected by other cats.

According to Dark Pfeiffer, an epidemiologist at City University of Hong Kong, the results suggest that cats should be considered a factor in controlling COVID-19, but that cats are not a major factor in the spread of the disease. Was suggested. “Thus, a focus on controlling COVID-19 definitely needs to work hard to reduce the risk of person-to-person transmission.”

SARS, a previous study of the virus that caused severe acute respiratory syndrome, has shown that cats can become infected with SARS-CoV and spread to other cats. However, “There was no sign that SARS-CoV spread to domestic cats or transmitted from cats to humans during the SARS epidemic,” Saif said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that individuals infected with COVID-19 restrict contact with pets. This includes avoiding contact, licking and sharing food and cooking utensils.

“These are precautionary measures that will be advised on new emerging diseases where limited information is available,” Saif says.

Other animals

Researchers have also found that ferrets are also very susceptible to coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infection. Some laboratories have already started research on COVID-19.

However, dogs became less susceptible to the virus. The researchers infected five young dogs, and two excreted viral RNA in feces, but did not contain the infectious virus.

Similar studies in pigs, chickens, and ducks found no viral RNA in animals intentionally infected with the virus or exposed to the infected animal.

Pfeiffer says that these findings suggest that none of these species plays a role in the epidemiology of COVID-19 infection.

This article was reproduced with permission, First edition April 1, 2020.

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