For the past few months, Sun Citians have been trying to practice six feet of social distancing as they travel through their daily activities outside of their homes.
Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are asking pet owners to take precautions with furry members of their household. The recent discovery of COVID-19 found in two New York State felines (living in two separate locations) and in one North Carolina canine has preempted the health association’s move. Globally, at this time, there have been only a few cases of domestic cats and dogs that have tested positive for the virus. This occurred, apparently, after their owners first became ill with COVID-19.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) does state “The risk of a pet contracting the virus is low.” Indeed, cases in pets have been extremely rare so far.
But on May 13, researchers from the University of Tokyo and University of Wisconsin, Madison, reported online findings (found in the New England Journal of Medicine) informing the public of their single artificially created lab experiment results. During the experiment, the research team delivered corona virus fluids from an infected human directly into three healthy domestic cats. Each of the three infected felines then were housed separately with one other uninfected cat. After five days, the three uninfected cats also tested positive via nasal swabs. All six felines proved to be asymptomatic at the conclusion of the lab experiment, although they produced antibodies for 24 days after the first positive test. A Japanese team member, professor and vet, Dr. Yoshiro Kawaoka, states that this research points to evidence “that humans can transmit the virus to cats and that cats can spread it to other cats.” The researchers continued “It is more likely that humans are giving the virus to their pets, rather than pets causing humans to become ill.”
The study also said that “while there is no evidence of the virus being transmitted from cats to humans, it is necessary to get a better understanding of the potential role of pets in the pandemic.” The Verge, a New York multi-media company, explains, “There has been no present evidence of a (domestic) pet anywhere in the world transmitting COVID-19 to a person.” The CDC agrees as it states “There’s no evidence (at this time) that house pets spread the virus from animal-to-human…”
Dr. Jane Sykes, a vet at the University of California, Davis, pointed out that “If COVID-19 were a serious problem (with animals), we would know it by now.” The doctor continued, “Cats and dogs may be what we call dead-end hosts. They might get infected with the virus. They might shed it, but they’re unlikely to shed it enough to spread it to people.” The global pandemic has proven to be the result of a human to human transmission of the lethal contagion.
The Verge continues “Because the novel coronavirus can survive for some time on different surfaces, there is only a slight chance that our furry friends could carry the virus (on their paws or elsewhere) even though they’re not infected or are not displaying symptoms. But the only study to date of how long the virus can persist on surfaces looked at plastic, metal, and cardboard – not animal fur.” The AVMA does issue this statement: “It’s usually harder for a virus to survive and spread from one living thing to another via a porous surface, like hair or fur, because it’s more likely to get trapped in the pores of the living material.”
Consider taking similar precautions with our dogs and cats, as we do with our other loved ones. Keep your house clean from possible contaminants. But especially, practice all social distancing, when necessary, to keep your entire family healthy and safe!
Visit cdc.org for more information and tips possible COVID transmission between animals and humans.
