The latest data from the US Department of Agriculture shows that as of October 25, there were nearly 300 confirmed cases of new crown in the United States, among which the top three animals ranked in the number of confirmed cases were cats, dogs and tigers. 11 lions at the Denver Zoo tested positive for the coronavirus. The zoo confirmed the test positive in a statement posted on Twitter on Monday after staff noticed the lion coughing, sneezing, runny nose and drowsy.
According to the zoo's statement, the sick lion underwent a nasal swab test and confirmed the positive result. The zoo animal caregivers and veterinarians said the lions had mild symptoms, adding that they were still paying close attention. Two tigers in the zoo, as well as other big cats in zoos across the country, have also been infected with the new coronavirus, said Brian Aucone, senior vice president of life sciences at the Denver Zoo.
"Luckily, the vast majority have fully recovered, and the benefit is that we have an established knowledge base to help treat our animals," Oconi said. "We have contacted other zoos that have recently handled COVID-19 cases in large cats to inform us of the care we are providing."
Cats are highly susceptible to the coronavirus at noon on September 28, three cats in Nangang District, Harbin were euthanized for being positive for nucleic acid.
The confirmed case of new coronavirus in Harbin posted on Weibo that he is a confirmed patient and is now actively cooperating with the treatment in the hospital. No symptoms will be cured soon. But her community notified her that because the staff tested her three cats for nucleic acid and the result was positive, all three cats were euthanized.
On September 21, the patient was isolated due to confirmed infection with COVID-19. During her treatment in the hospital, she equipped the cat with enough water and food, and community staff regularly came to her home to help take care of her. Community staff entered her home three times to test her living environment, and also took anal swab samples for three cats. Previously, the local animal epidemic prevention department had performed two anal swab tests on the cat, and the test results were all positive.
The infections of these animals are mostly discovered through environmental monitoring or traceability of the new coronavirus. By conducting nucleic acid testing of the new coronavirus for nasopharyngeal swabs or excrements of animals, it is confirmed that the new coronavirus is positive.
Previously, the British magazine Nature website reported that when researchers from the US Department of Agriculture conducted a study on the serum samples of some white-tailed deer in the northeastern United States, they found that one-third of the sampled white-tailed deer had new coronavirus-related antibodies in their bodies, indicating that they had been infected with the new coronavirus.
"At present, there has not been enough data about the new coronavirus, and it is not possible to confirm whether the new coronavirus can be transmitted circulating between humans and animals. However, in the current cat infection incident in Harbin, it is very likely that the occasional infection of pets after they are exposed to the new coronavirus. Pets will continue to pollute the environment and continue to cause transmission." Lu Xuexin, an expert at the Institute of Virology Disease Prevention and Control of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said.
Virals in animals need to accumulate enough mutations to spread to humans. Lu Xuexin, an expert from the Institute of Prevention and Control, believes that there are two main possibilities for the discovery of new coronavirus in animal groups under natural conditions. One is the continuous transmission of infections between animals, and the other is the occasional infection caused by surrounding environment pollution. In the former case, some types of viruses can be transmitted circulating between humans and animals, such as rabies virus, while the other viruses have species limitations and require sufficient mutations to spread to humans.
Lu Xuexin told The Paper that according to current virus research, there are already coronaviruses of their own species in animals such as cats and dogs. Delta's is more adaptive mutant strains after it spreads from animals to humans, which are more adaptable to humans than to animals.
According to Jiupai News on September 28, the community staff of the confirmed case responded to the matter that cats are different from humans. There is no place to treat cats. If the cats are not treated, the room is all positive, so the patient cannot come back, and the person in the unit where the patient is located cannot come back. There is no scientific conclusion yet on whether cats can cause human infection. A positive nucleic acid test for cats indicates that there is a possibility of virus transmission.
The centralized isolation of infected pets and the feasibility of pets being vaccinated with the new crown vaccine is not very feasible
In the Weibo posts of confirmed patients in Harbin, many netizens have put forward many suggestions on how to deal with pets infected with the new crown virus, including centralized isolation of infected pets and vaccinating pets with the new crown vaccine.
However, in the view of Lu Xuexin, an expert from the Institute of Prevention and Control, it is not feasible to quarantine infected pets in a centralized manner.
"It is uncertain whether an animal will develop after being infected with the new coronavirus. It may be carried for a long time, or it may be transiently infected. These are difficult to guide isolation measures. In addition, there are diverse species of animals and different habits. The contact and communication between animal groups or different animals has caused many loopholes in management, and unified management is too difficult." Lu Xuexin explained that if an infection occurs, pet owners can be urged to isolate the animals to prevent transmission. Large-scale isolation is not feasible.
Like the prevention of rabies, will pets need to be vaccinated with the new crown vaccine in the future? Lu Xuexin said that with the development and changes of the new crown epidemic, the new crown virus has been mutating and becoming more complex and severe. At present, it should be better to vaccinate people as soon as possible and establish an immune barrier.
Expert of the Institute of Prevention and Control, Lu Xuexin, believes that vaccination of animal new crown vaccine is only a possible way of prevention and control, but from a scientific point of view, it will not play a role in the current prevention and control of the new crown.
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