A team of researchers from the University of Zaragoza led by Professor Mª Dolores Pérez Cabrejas has just developed the first rapid test to diagnose coronavirus in companion animals . Its use does not require a laboratory, but can be done in the veterinary clinic itself by extracting a blood sample. The result is obtained in a short time.
Animals that live with people infected with COVID-19 are exposed to the virus and can become infected. From an epidemiological point of view, the role that pets can play in this infection is still unknown. That is why researchers consider it necessary to develop specific diagnostic tests that are used in the veterinary field. In fact, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) points out that the infection is more likely to be detected in animals using serological tests instead of other diagnostic tests, as has been seen in other viral zoonoses (animal virus leap the human) The rapid test developed by the Zaragoza researchers has shown that some of the pets that lived with people who had coronavirus had developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, that is, they had passed the disease.
Those in charge of developing the test have vast experience in the creation of immunochemical techniques (UNIZAR-IA2), in the expression and purification of glycoproteins (UNIZAR-BIFI) and in human immunology (Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón, IIS Aragón). The Aragonese biotechnology company Zeulab has collaborated in the project by making the R&D laboratory equipment available to researchers and has participated in the preparation and validation of the prototype of the test developed.
Experts recommend that if we have a pet and contract COVID, we follow the same isolation measures as with humans and avoid physical contact with our animals as much as possible so as not to compromise their well-being. In addition, the OIE recommends “keeping animals whose owners are infected with the COVID-19 virus indoors in accordance with similar confinement recommendations that apply to people in the country or area”.
Last month Russia registered the first coronavirus vaccine for animals . The United States also has quite advanced projects. Zoetis and Medgene Labs are working and testing a COVID-19 vaccine in mink. In the case of Zoetis, its Center for Transboundary and Emerging Diseases began last year to develop a vaccine for its application in pets, although the project was later adapted for its application in gorillas and mink.
Although there is currently no scientific evidence that a new coronavirus infection has been transmitted from other animals to humans, health authorities believe that some species could function as reservoirs for the virus, posing a high public health risk. as it can lead to new zoonosis events. The use of the vaccine, according to Russian scientists, can prevent the development of future mutations of the virus.
