According to a Canadian study, cat and dog owners who hug their pets when infected withCOVID-19may eventually infect animals with the virus. there is.
According to this study, animals such as cats, dogs, ferrets, and hamsters appear to be more susceptible to COVID-19, but infections can occur more often than previously thought. there is.
This study, published this month in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, involved 69 cats and 49 dogs, including pets and animals in shelters and contraceptive surgery clinics.
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Pet owners were also asked to fill out an online survey on the nature of their interaction with animals.
"These data show a relatively common human-to-animal transmission of SARS-CoV-2, such as specific human-animal contact_eg, kissing a pet. , Pets sleeping in bed seem to increase the risk, "the study said.
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"Dog and cat infections are human-to-animal, given the pandemic nature of this virus in humans. I speculated that it was a direct reflection of the infection. Contact between most domestic pets and other animals. "
Dogs and cats that lived in shelters compared to those who lived with low humans The COVID-19 infection rate is according to the study's co-author, Professor Scott Weese of the University of Geruf, Ontario Veterinary Medicine.
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"As expected, it was a pretty big difference," Weez said.
Professor Dorothy Bienzul, lead author of the Department of Pathology and Biology at the University of Guelph, said the results suggest that cats have a higher COVID-19 infection rate than dogs.
"It has to do with how well the virus latches into receptors in the respiratory system of cats or dogs," Bientzl said.
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The high prevalence of COVID-19 antibody in cats surprised researchers, she said.
"I didn't expect that much," she said. "More than half of the cats in the households of people infected with COVID had antibodies, which is very high."
COVID-19-infected animals are with humans infected with the virus. She has similar symptoms, she said.
COVID-19: Hong Kong is investigating the susceptibility of animals to the virus when sneezing small infected animals WHO "They have no appetite, are clumsy and sleep more, they may sneeze or cough," she said.
According to Weeds, cats can transmit infections to each other and to humans.
He said a Thai veterinarian was diagnosed with COVID-19 in August 2021 after being sneezeed by an infected cat owned by a virus-positive patient. Genetic analysis showed that the virus was transmitted from cat owners to pets and to veterinarians, Weez said.
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There is also evidence that human-infected minks can infect others with the virus. He said.
Human-to-animal transmission can be minimized by keeping distance, wearing masks, and taking other precautions, just as owners prevent human transmission. He said he could.
"Ideally, what we want to do is to limit contact with animals when they become infected, so that they do not spread as much as possible," he says. I did. "It's ideal."
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