High Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Pets from COVID-19+ Households
An Anonymous Coward writes:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352771420302937
In a survey of household cats and dogs of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients, we found a high seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, ranging from 21% to 53%, depending on the positivity criteria chosen. Seropositivity was significantly greater among pets from COVID-19+ households compared to those with owners of unknown status. Our results highlight the potential role of pets in the spread of the epidemic.
Journal Reference:
Matthieu Fritz, Beatrice Rosolen, Emilie Krafft, et al. High prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in pets from COVID-19+ households One Health (DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2020.100192)
Separately, there is concern that Coronavirus mutations could develop in animals and be transmitted back to humans, possibly in a more virulent form. Further, having a reservoir of virus in non-humans could make it much more difficult to eradicate. A recent article in The New York Times expounds on this:
The decision this week by the Danish government to kill millions of mink because of coronavirus concerns, effectively wiping out a major national industry, has put the spotlight on simmering worries among scientists and conservationists about the vulnerability of animals to the pandemic virus, and what infections among animals could mean for humans.
The most disturbing possibility is that the virus could mutate in animals and become more transmissible or more dangerous to humans. In Denmark, the virus has shifted from humans to mink and back to humans, and has mutated in the process. Mink are the only animals known to have passed the coronavirus to humans, except for the initial spillover event from an unknown species. Other animals, like cats and dogs, have been infected by exposure to humans, but there are no known cases of people being infected by exposure to their pets.
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