As we learn more about SARS-CoV-2, the closer we are to finding an effective treatment or vaccines. It is important to study the epidemiology of this coronavirus in as much detail as possible, because any knowledge we obtain about COVID-19 will contribute to the continued knowledge of this disease.
Scientists generally agree that pets are not a vector of contagion . But it seems that, in felines, the coronavirus does have the capacity to infect.
The scientific journal Nature recently published an article called Coronavirus can infect cats – dogs, not so much , in which it summarized how a team from the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute had studied exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in four cats. All four produced antibodies against SARS-CoV-2: only one of them showed detectable viral RNA, although none of the infected felines showed symptoms of disease. Therefore, scientists reassure those who live with cats at home, since, for now, it does not seem possible that they can spread the virus to humans. It seems that the coronavirus would have a very low contagiousness in felines, and that it would hardly cause them to present symptoms.
Although minimally, since cats are capable of contracting the coronavirus, we have just learned of the first case of a tiger in the world to test positive: it is Nadia, a 4-year-old Malayan tigress who lives in the Bronx Zoo, who remains closed from March 16. Nadia, her sister Blue, two Amur tigers, and three African lions had developed a dry cough, but only Nadia has tested positive for COVID-19 so far; however, all of them are expected to recover. This positive has been confirmed by the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory, based in Ames, Iowa.
All four affected tigers live in the zoo’s Tiger Mountain exhibit. A male Amur tiger that also lives at Tiger Mountain has not exhibited any clinical signs, and a Malayan tiger and two Amur tigers in the zoo’s Wild Asia exhibit have also shown no symptoms.
Veterinary experts have stated that, logically, it is not known how this disease will develop in big cats , since different species can react differently to new infections.
Infected by a caregiver
According to a statement from the Bronx Zoo, the cats were infected by a caregiver who was asymptomatically infected with the virus , perhaps even before that person developed symptoms. From now on, appropriate preventive measures have been implemented for all care staff, to avoid further exposure of any other of the zoo’s cats.
As experts recall, there is no evidence that animals play a role in the transmission of COVID-19 to people, beyond the initial event in the Wuhan market, and there is also no evidence that any person has been infected by animals, like dogs or cats.
For now, more tests are needed, in which cats receive different doses of the virus, to see if felines can transmit the coronavirus to each other. The results suggest that cats should be considered in the effort to control COVID-19, but that they are not a major factor in the spread of the disease.
