New Covid-19 Coronavirus in Humans Can Spread to Cats, Which in turn May Confect Their Peers, Although They May Not Show Symptoms, Research by Research Team the universities of Tokyo (Japan) and Wisconsin-Madison (United States). The results of this new study were published Wednesday in the “New England Journal of Medicine”.
Researchers have assumed that while there is no evidence that a cat can transmit the virus to a human, there is however a need to better understand the possible role of pets in the pandemic
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the laboratories of the national veterinary services, in particular, confirmed the contamination of two cats with Covid-19 in April. Other cases have also been reported in Belgium (one), France (one) and Hong Kong (one).
To validate the transmission between cats, the researchers took the virus from a human and inoculated it in three cats in an American laboratory. The infected subjects were then brought into contact with healthy cats, which tested positive five days later.
The six cats remained positive for about five days without showing any particular symptom, according to the researchers. Blood tests then showed that they had developed antibodies for 24 days after the first test.
For veterinarian and professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka, who participated in the experiment, these results demonstrate the importance of keeping domestic cats indoors, since they are likely to contract the virus without showing symptoms.
And since a human can transmit the disease to a cat, “infected owners should keep a certain distance” from their animals, adds Professor Kawaoka.
Cats aren’t the only ones who can be infected. In April, tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo in New York showed signs of respiratory illness. They tested positive after a caregiver contracted the virus, according to several American media.
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