With over 1.84 million deaths and over 2.7 million COVID-19 positive cases worldwide, people across the globe are worried and eagerly waiting for the vaccine against the virus. World Health Organisation (WHO) with other organisations of the world is presently playing an active role to provide the best treatment for the disease and the latest information and guidelines for the people to prevent the alarming spread of COVID-19. From the mid of March 2020 people got more worried when COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by WHO and hundreds of people started dying in Italy, France, Iran, Spain and USA each day.
When this novel virus started spreading at an alarming rate, rumours and misinformation started spreading at each platform of communication faster than the virus itself and the people all over the world panicked and started doing such activities which as humans we should not do. This made people worried not only about their family members but for their pets as well. I get calls, messages, and e-mails from pet owners with a bunch of questions. I am sure that during these days so many questions might be arising in the minds of all pet owners and because of lack of proper information some have already started abandoning their pets, no matter how much they love them.
The concern of pet owners is genuine knowing the fact that the origin of most of the epidemics are animals be it Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2004 originated from Pigs, Ebola in 2007, 2013 and 2016 originated from wild animals, Swine flu in 2009 originated from birds and pigs, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012 originated from bats, Zika virus in 2015-16 originated from mosquito. All these diseases caused a great loss to human lives. So I thought to share this information about the occurrence of COVID-19 in pets, with pet owners and our fellow veterinarians in particular.
The full form of the disease COVID-19 is Corona Virus Disease which erupted in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and its causative agent is novel Corona Virus named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Corona virus is not a single virus but a group of viruses that affect the mammals and birds. First of all, we should know the fact that the corona virus is not new– many species, including humans, have had their own corona viruses circulating for decades. Those viruses were species-specific, which means that they do not spread from one species to the other. So the kind of corona virus dogs get won’t infect a person or a cat, it just infects dogs. The infection due to corona virus is in general mild in birds and other animals but in some cases can prove lethal as well.
There are two main forms of the corona virus in dogs: intestinal form (canine enteric corona virus) and respiratory form (canine respiratory corona virus). If a dog gets Enteric Coronavirus, it will have diarrhoea for a few days and then get over it. It isn’t deadly, and in many cases doesn’t even require treatment. Canine respiratory corona virus on the other hand is little more common and may cause symptoms of common cold or kennel cough; such cases are treated just by giving antibiotics if there is a risk of getting pneumonia. Feline Corona Virus (FCoV) affecting cats has the potential to become deadly. It can cause diarrhoea for few days which in most of the cases is self-limiting, but in a few cases the corona virus can mutate into a deadly form and can cause Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) which is 100 percent lethal. Up to 90% of cats, when tested, will test positive for exposure to coronavirus. Of all the cats infected with Coronavirus, less than 5% will develop FIP. The research has proven till now that these viruses are different from the novel corona virus and do not infect humans.
COVID-19 and pets
The novel corona virus, SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19 in humans comprises an outer envelope surrounding the genetic material-RNA. Infection begins when the viral spike glycoprotein of the envelop attaches to its complementary host cell receptors in the lungs, which usually is the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and then fuses with the cell membrane. Sequence homology for ACE2 at the critical binding sites suggests that this virus might be able to bind to ACE2 receptors in cats and ferrets.
However, the binding of virus is not sufficient to cause the disease; additional steps like membrane fusion, viral replication, avoiding the host immune response etc. are also necessary components of the infection and potential transmission. There are some researches based on which we can reasonably suspect that the dogs might also bind the virus. Rats and mice appear not to be able to bind the virus because their receptors are different enough from those of dogs and cats. I would like to add here that original SARS virus (2002-2004) could also bind to the dog and cat ACE2 receptors but no reported case of pet-to-human transmission of the virus were ever reported anywhere.
Since from the COVID-19 started spreading, all over the world, the veterinarians and the associated medical doctors dealing with COVID-19 patients are thoroughly monitoring all the ways through which this disease can transmit between the people. Many researches came with the findings that the pets can get the disease from the COVID-19 affected people.
Two Pomeranian dogs were quarantined in Hong Kong, whose owner had been found positive for SARS-CoV-2. On February 27, 2020 Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) reported that samples obtained from one of the quarantined 17-year-old Pomeranian had tested “weak positive” for SARS-CoV-2. However, the results from a rectal swab and faecal sample were negative. The second pet dog had consistently negative results of tests for the virus. Neither of the two dogs showed any signs of respiratory disease during their quarantine.
On March 18, 2020 another report showed that a two-year-old German Shepherd Dog, whose owner had tested positive for COVID-19, had also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The dog also had positive results of a test on March 19 and then negative results on March 23. Another mixed-breed dog from the same residence tested negative. Neither of the two dogs has shown signs of respiratory disease. Both dogs are in quarantine and are continuously being monitored and tested.
Till March 25, the AFCD confirmed only two dogs (described above) positive for SARS-Cov-2 out of 17 dogs and 8 cats which were tested as they were from households with confirmed COVID-19 human cases.
On March 30, 2020 the AFCD reported that a pet cat that lived in a residence with an individual confirmed to be ill with COVID-19 had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 via oral cavity, nasal, and rectal samples. The cat is in quarantine and has exhibited no clinical signs of disease.
Another report came from Belgium on March 18, 2020 about a cat that viral RNA of SARS-C0V-2 was detected in its faeces and vomit but later the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) gave a report that it is not confirmed whether the sequences of virus in the cat and the owner were similar. The condition of the cat reportedly improved nine days after onset of clinical signs.
On April 5, 2020 the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in one tiger in a zoo in New York. Samples from the tiger were obtained and tested after several lions and tigers at the zoo showed clinical signs of respiratory illness. All of the tigers are expected to recover and no other animal in the zoo are exhibiting clinical signs of the disease. USDA and CDC are continuing to monitor the animals, and state animal and public health officials will determine whether other animals, at this zoo or in other areas, should be tested for SARS-CoV-2.
On April 22, 2020 two cats in New York have tested positive for the corona virus forming the first confirmed positive cases in companion animals in the United States.
Message to pet owners
Hitherto many positive cases have been detected in pets but there is no available proof that dogs, cats or other domestic animals can transmit the disease to humans. For all the pet owners, there is a humble request that they shouldn’t panic, and they don’t need to believe the unauthentic sources of information. Instead they should keep updating themselves about the disease from the authentic sources for what necessary precautions they need to take. In case any of the family members tests positive for COVID-19; keep the affected person isolated, don’t allow pets to get in contact with the affected person, and call your local public health officers or a veterinarian for the instructions that need to be followed.
If you want to take the pet to the veterinary hospital or a pet’s clinic, call the veterinarian in time so that he can prepare himself and other staff members to prevent any spread of the disease. Please don’t abandon your pets because by doing so you are not preventing the spread of the disease rather you are spreading it more as your pet can come in contact with other pets which can carry it to their, pets’, family members as well. It’s better if you spend your quality time with your pets which can reduce your stress, more than ever, this time. Wash your hands with soap after you play with your pets and keep your pets clean and well groomed. If your pets are not vaccinated, vaccinate them as soon as possible.
I would like to conclude this article with a message for all pet owners and the veterinarians to remain active and vigilant at this crucial time. I suggest all pet owners to be in contact with their veterinarians. The Vets also need to take all required precautions while examining the pets for their own safety and the safety of others and get all up to date information from the owners including the information whether any person in the household is positive for COVID-19. There comes the duty of pet owners apart from taking proper care of their pets, they need to get them vaccinated and regularly examined by the veterinarians.
It is important to remember that there is currently no reason at this time to think that pets including domestic animals might be a source of infection with SARS-CoV-2. Accordingly, there is no reason to remove pets from homes. In this emergency, pets and people each need the support of the other and veterinarians are there to support the good health of both.
