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Technology Focus: Scientists have reported the first case of COVID-19 affected person getting from a cat

First there were hamsters, and now cats sneeze. The Thai team reports the first strong evidence that a domestic cat infected a person with SARS-CoV-2 added animals to the list of animals that could transmit the virus to humans. Researchers say the results are satisfactory. They are amazed that it took so long to discover that infection is possible, given the level of the epidemic, the ability of the virus to jump between species of animals, and the close contact between cats and humans. “We knew this could happen for two years,” said Angela Bosco-Lauth, an infectious disease researcher at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

Research at the beginning of the epidemic found that cats break off particles of the infectious virus and can infect other cats. And in the wake of the epidemic, countries have reported SARS-CoV-2 infections at many levels of pets. But establishing guidelines for the spread of the virus from cat to human or from human to cat is deceptive. Thai research “is an interesting case study, and a good example of what can be done with good follow-up,” says Marion Koopmans, a gynecologist at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The discovery of the animals, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases 1 on June 6, happened by accident, says co-author Sarunyou Chusri, an infectious disease researcher and physician at Prince Songkla University in Hat Yai, southern Thailand. In August, a father and son who had been tested for SARS-CoV-2 were transferred to a ward alone at a university hospital. Their 10-year-old cat was also mutilated and found to be infected. During the immersion, the cat sneezed into the face of a veterinarian, who was wearing masks and gloves but was unprotected.

Three days later, the veterinarian developed a fever, cough and cough, and was later diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2, but none of his close associates developed COVID-19, suggesting he was infected with the cat. Genetic analysis also confirmed that the veterinarian had the same genetic differences as the cat and its owners, and the viral genomic sequences were similar. Researchers say such cases of cat-to-human transmission are almost uncommon. Experimental studies have shown that infected cats do not shed much of the virus, and only spend a few days, says Leo Poon, a veterinarian at the University of Hong Kong. infection. “People should not throw away their cats, but take good care of them,” he said.

Other animals that are suspected of infecting humans include domestic mink in Europe and North America, Hong Kong domesticated hamsters and white-tailed deer in Canada. Adding cats to the list “increases our understanding of the zoonotic potential of the virus”, says Poon. “Obviously, humans are still the main source of the virus,” said Bosco-Lauth.

Source Journal Reference: Smriti Mallapaty, First reported case of a person getting COVID from a cat, nature News (2022), https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01792-y

Read Also: Health Focus: Study reveals the Covid-19 pandemic impact is harder in the poor countries

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