Study finds people can transmit coronavirus to cats, dogs
A study by Italian scientists has found that people can transmit coronavirus SARS-COV-2 to cats and dogs.
The
study tested 540 dogs and 277 cats living in households in northern
Italy, particularly in Lombardy, where someone was infected with the
virus or in areas where there were many cases.
The
study, which has not been peer-reviewed yet, found coronavirus
antibodies in 3.4 per cent of dogs and 3.9 per cent of cats, indicating
they were infected with the virus.
Swab tests for active virus infections were negative in all animals, as the virus shedding period ended after two weeks.
The tests were conducted between March and May of this year.
Thomas
Mettenleiter, leader of the German Federal Research Institute for
Animal Health (FLI), said the results showed that the virus could be
transmitted between humans and animals.
This confirms what we already know, Mettenleiter said, adding that the large scale of the study was unprecedented as it was difficult to get samples.
According to Mettenleiter, most
animals in the study came from households affected by the coronavirus,
indicating that infection is generally transmitted from humans to
animals.
He added that this confirmed the FLI’s
assumption that cats and dogs don’t play a significant role in the
spread of COVID-19, and that healthy people needed not limit their
contact with their pets.
People, who are
infected with the virus, however, should limit their contact with their
pets, although there are no indications so far that animals can die of
the coronavirus, according to Mettenleiter.
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