.A team led by veterinarian Dorothee Bienzle of the University of Guelph in Ontario studied a potential COVID infection in 198 cats and 54 dogs. All of the dogs and 48 cats were from a household where at least one person had COVID, and the rest of the cats were from an animal shelter or neutral clinic. The team found that two in three cats and two in five dogs whose owners had COVID had antibodies to SARSCoV2, indicating that they too had been infected with the virus at some point. But in the shelter group, less than one in 10 cats had these antibodies. And in the neutral clinic, the figure was less than one in 38.Dogs and cats from families whose owners had COVID often developed symptoms of the disease, report Bienzle and his team. Between 20 and 30 percent of the animals experienced loss of energy and appetite, coughing, diarrhea, runny nose and breathing problems. mild and short-term, but were severe in three cases. In cats, the risk of infection was higher in those who had been pampered closely by their owners, according to behavioral surveys conducted by researchers in addition to antibody testing. This correlation between cuddling was not seen in dogs at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, and his colleagues conducted similar studies in 156 dogs and 154 cats from around 200 families with human patients with the condition. of COVID.The researchers discovered that animals in one in five families were infected with the virus, the results identified by a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or antibodies.The role of pets and livestock in the COVID pandemic has been a subject of debate for some time. Several studies have shown that pigs, cows, ducks and chickens appear to be very resistant to the virus. Cats are often infected at higher rates than dogs, Hamer notes, and transmit the pathogen to other felines. In addition to the pathogen that poses a risk to the health of our pets, researchers are concerned that it may multiply in animals and may be dumb, reverting to humans at one point. given moment. "The main concern is (...) the potential risk that pets could act as a reservoir for the virus and reintroduce it into the human population," says Broens. Mink has been shown to transmit SARSCoV2 to humans, which has led countries to take drastic measures to prevent the spread of the pathogen in mink farms.Denmark and the Netherlands have slaughtered their mink cattle, killing nearly 20 million furbearing animals in total to stop the spread of the virus. So far, says Broens, there is no evidence of such retransmission from cats and dogs to humans. But Hamer notes that current studies just aren't. put to answer this exact question. Meanwhile, researchers advise pet owners to be careful. “If you have COVID19, my advice is to keep your distance from your pet and not let them into your room,” Bie nzle said. Hamer remembers that the recommendations are the same as for any other human being in your family: if you are infected, stay as far away as possible.
